


Turnout

by shadowdriver772



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Castiel, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Arson, BAMF Castiel, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Detective Castiel, F/F, F/M, Firefighter Dean, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Torture, Knotting, M/M, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Character Death, Omega Dean, detective gabriel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:51:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 55,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7639120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowdriver772/pseuds/shadowdriver772
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detectives Castiel and Gabriel Novak have been assigned one of the toughest cases the Sioux Falls Police Department has seen in years: a serial arsonist sweeping through the city and targeting omegas.</p>
<p>It's no surprise to Castiel why the arsonist hasn't been caught yet; the arsonist doesn't seem to be following any patterns of how they're choosing victims, and every lead they uncover keeps turning into dead ends.</p>
<p>What does surprise him, however, is the headstrong omega firefighter willing to help out with the investigation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The One Where There's a Fire

_ARROOOOGAH. ARROOOOGAH._

 

Sirens started to blare, echoing throughout the station and waking Dean up, alone, in the omega bunkroom as the overhead lights began blinking red. The sound of movement from the beta and alpha bunkrooms on the other side of the thin walls roused Dean even further, and he patted around blindly for his watch.

 

Throwing on his station’s sweatpants and tucking his work t-shirt in, Dean quickly pushed open the door to his bunk and saw other crew members in similar states of undress, their hair stuck up at different angles from sleeping.

 

The confusion that came from being woken up for an emergency in the middle of the night mixed with the heavy scent of anxiousness and unease in the air, and steadily grew thicker as the firefighters rubbed the sleep from their eyes and became more alert.

 

The omega strained to hear the dispatch information coming in through the radio; barely audible over the sound of pounding feet as the firefighters descended the flight of stairs to their station’s garage bay.

 

_03:16_

_Company 26 for next due response, Rescue 30_

_Unknown Situation_

_1482 East Wolfe St., Sioux Falls_

_Caller states that they don’t know what’s going on, thinks there may be someone inside her neighbor’s house. Police are already on their way_

 

Velcro ripping open filled the silence in between the dispatcher’s pauses as the crew hurriedly stepped into their thick firefighting pants and boots. Dean threw on his heavy jacket and loosely strapped his helmet under his chin before rounding the front of the firetruck and hopping into the driver seat.

 

“ _Medic 31 responding,”_ came the ambulance driver’s scratchy voice over the radio.

 

_Medic 31 responding. 03:17_

_Be advised, the caller is now reporting that the unknown situation has become a structure fire_

_Re-advise: this is now a structure fire, 03:17_

_1482 East Wolfe St._

_The structure is a small two story home; caller says that the single resident is unaccounted for, could still be inside the building_

The female dispatcher’s voice ended and Dean did a quick scan of his side view mirrors, making sure none of his crew members still lingered outside the fire engine putting on gear. Satisfied, Dean turned to the gruff beta sitting next to him in the passenger seat.

 

“Ready to go, old man?”

 

Bobby straightened the white Captain’s helmet on his head, barely sparing Dean an annoyed glance before opening their laptop navigation system.

 

“Just drive the damn truck, ya idjit.”

 

Dean smirked at the beta’s lack of enthusiasm and turned the keys in the ignition, focusing on the diesel engine as it roared to life and the steering wheel began to shake in his grip, then slowly pulled the firetruck out of the station’s bays and onto the street.

 

“Medic Engine 26 responding.”

 

_Medic Engine 26 responding. 03:18_

 

* * *

 

 

The ambulance hadn’t arrived by the time Dean pulled up to the scene, but two police cruisers were parked along the curb further down the street, and their uniformed drivers quickly approached the firetruck to brief Bobby.

 

The rest of the firefighters hopped out of the truck, refastening straps and safety mechanisms on their gear, and pulling air masks on over their faces.

 

“Alright, listen up!” Bobby hollered, the police officers already retreating to the safety of their cruisers. “Owner of the home still ain’t accounted for, so it’s lookin’ like she may still be inside. Winchester and Lafitte, I want you two going in to search for the girl.”

 

Dean twisted around for his partner, pausing when he saw Benny already standing behind him.    

 

“I want Zeddmore and Spangler hosing down the right side of the house,” Bobby continued, and the two firefighters set off to unroll one of the water hoses from the truck. “Ash, take Milligan over to handle the left side. I want this fire put out five minutes ago. Get movin’!”

 

Dean and Benny stood a moment longer while everyone started running around them, double and triple checking the seal on both of their air tanks and masks, and tightening each other’s helmets. Once they were ready, the partners gave their traditional good-luck double fist bump, and then Dean strode across the yard and kicked the front door down.

 

Every time Dean walked into a burning building, it felt like he was in one of those houses of mirrors that you could find at every crappy roadside carnival he’d ever snuck Sammy out to go visit. Except instead of his face being reflected back at him, there was nothing but flickering oranges and reds and smoke.

 

The front hall of the home wasn’t very promising. It looked just like the outside of the house - which was to say that it was completely engulfed in fire. The stairs weren’t too damaged yet, but an elephant patterned tapestry hanging next to them had flames racing up it, like a curtain of fire. The actual curtains were also on fire, Dean noted, as the two men stepped into another room, starting their strategy of working clockwise through all the rooms on a floor before moving to the next level of a house.

 

The next room looked like it used to be a quaint, homey living room, but the hardwood paneling had turned an ashy black and began splintering right before their eyes. Remnants of a charred rug slowly flickered underneath a leather couch placed in the middle of the room, with a blanket draped over the top that had flames sprouting from it into the air. The bottom of a cabinet decorated with picture frames on top was starting to smoke and hiss as the bottom caught fire. Dean felt a twinge of remorse for whoever was going to be losing all their pictures and memories.

 

Since the homeowner was obviously not trapped in the living room, Benny led them into the next one, where they were met with the thick black smoke of burning plastics as soon as they opened the door. It felt like they were treading on gum as they made their way through the room, a kitchen; the cheap linoleum of the melting floor stuck to their boots a little every time they took a step forward. It was pretty fucking nasty, if you asked Dean, and was only made worse by having to avoid dish towels scattered all over the floor and countertops, all alight with flames and turning the kitchen into a firey obstacle course.

 

“Why’d you think all them towels are all on the floor like that, brother?” Benny's voice buzzed over the radio. 

 

“Beats me. Maybe there was a struggle, maybe the chick that lives here is just a slob,” Dean replied. Although he had to admit, towel material caught on fire easily, and the ones spread around there were making the hard tiled surfaces in the kitchen catch fire much quicker than they usually would have.

 

The black smoke from burning appliances on the countertop was quickly obscuring Dean’s vision through the air mask, and he had to feel around for the door to leave, returning the two of them back to the front hall they started in.

 

“ _Winchester, Lafitte. Gimme a status check_.” The voice was partially overrun with static, but Dean could recognize Bobby’s voice anywhere, and he responded as Benny took the lead cautiously climbing the stairs.

 

“Searched the first floor, no sign of the home owner. We’re heading upstairs right now.”

 

“ _Copy. You boys be careful.”_

 

Dean rolled his eyes at Bobby’s concern before following after his partner.

 

They had to hunch down a little to avoid the flames spread all over the ceiling, and entered the nearest doorway into a small bathroom, with bath towels littering the tile floor again, all on fire. The fuck was up with this chick leaving towels everywhere?

 

Benny jumped as the shower curtain, completely scorched, burned off of the shower rod and fell to the floor.

 

Dean gave Benny a pat on the shoulder, signaling they needed to keep moving. There were still two more closed doors down the upstairs hallway they needed to search before being able to leave the burning house.

 

Just then, the structure of the house gave a slight lurch and cracking noise, suggesting that Dean and Benny needed to get the fuck out of there sooner rather than later.

 

“You wanna split up for a sec? You take the door on the left, I’ll take right.” Came Benny's voice over the radio.

 

“Copy.”

 

The door on the left wall was further down the hallway than the right door, and Dean saw Benny stepping into the room on the right before he'd even turned door knob for the left room.

 

More curtains (how many damn curtains did this lady need?) were creating a cage of fire along the walls of the bedroom. A wooden dresser was completely engulfed and crumbling in one corner, but Dean’s attention completely zeroed in on the woman lying on the bed.

 

Thin ropes tied her wrists to the head board, and Dean didn’t need to be a Paramedic to realize the dark smudges covering her body and staining the bra and underwear she wore were dried blood instead of ashes. Thin cuts crisscrossed her exposed skin, some longer or deeper than others, and one that ran along a cheekbone on her face.

 

Thank fuck his woman had one of those artsy modern bed frames made entirely out of metal instead of wood, or else the woman and her bed would have both been burning like the rest of the bedroom already.

 

“Benny,” Dean called through the radio. “I need you in the left bedroom as soon as possible. I think I've got the homeowner.”

 

 

There wasn’t enough slack in the ropes binding her wrists to the bed posts for him to cut without hurting her, so Dean ditched his knife and frantically tried untying the knots with his hands. His firefighting gloves were proving too thick to grab at the small knots though, and he kept uselessly fumbling over them.

 

“Fuck it.” Dean said, throwing his arms downward, hockey fistfight-style, successfully whipping the gloves off his hands.

 

He half acknowledged Benny radioing back as he started unthreading the thin ropes with his bare hands. Heat from the flames made blood rush to his exposed hands, and they were stinging and itching by the time he finished freeing the woman’s right wrist.

 

“Holy shit, brother,” Benny’s voice buzzed over the radio again, signaling that the Cajun had finally entered the bedroom.  

  

Dean was pretty sure he was probably-almost-halfway done undoing the left wrist while Benny removed the gag in the woman’s mouth, when he noticed that she hadn’t moved the entire time.

 

“Let’s get her out, c’mon.” Dean rushed as he reached down to pull his discarded gloves back on.

 

“Got it.”

 

The tiny house gave another threatening lurch, and Dean hurriedly scooped the woman up in his arms bridal style, so he wouldn’t irritate the cuts on her stomach by carrying her in a fireman’s hold. Carrying her like that would slow his movement, and take up time they couldn’t afford to lose, but he cradled her head as close as possible to his chest and followed Benny back towards the deteriorating stairs, dodging falling chunks of the ceiling as they ran.

 

* * *

 

 

3:24 AM.

_3:24 AM._

 

Who _the fuck_ was calling him at 3:24 AM? Castiel was certain that this wasn’t an acceptable time for correspondence.

 

The alarm clock sitting on his desk continued to blink the red numbers, mocking him.

 

There were a grand total of three people that could possibly be calling him right now, Castiel reasoned - and none of those calls promised good enough news to warrant the disruption of his few hours of sleep.

 

It could be his brother-in-law Gadreel again, asking Castiel’s opinion on some obscure pup-related topic. Last week it had taken three late night phone calls before Castiel was able to convince Gadreel that he could, in fact, trust the parenting books’ suggestion of the correct temperature to heat bottle milk to. Anna and Gadreel’s pup wasn’t even due for another month, but Castiel could humor his brother-in-law’s pup craze on occasion.

 

3:24 AM on a Saturday morning was not one of those occasions.

 

Of course, a call from Gabriel at this time wouldn’t be unheard of. Probably calling to ask for help burying a body, or whatever the hell Gabriel needed help with in his spare time. Who knew. The alpha sighed, too tired to be concerned with his older brother’s life choices right now.

 

Other than those two family members, the only person calling his cell would be someone from work. Castiel really hoped that wasn’t the case. He'd worked almost 70 hours this week, and had really hoped for the weekend off.

 

 _Ringggggg_.

 

With a huff, Castiel rolled towards the cell phone on his bedside table.

 

“Novak.”

 

“Cassie! What’s shakin’, baby bro?”

 

“Gabriel, what-”

 

“So I was baking some cupcakes earlier,” Gabriel immediately jumped in, “and they just came out of the oven, and you know, turns out peach and pistachio don’t taste as good together as you’d think.”

 

“Gabriel, please,” Castiel pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back into his pillow. If Gabriel was calling him now to talk about his _baking experiments_ , Castiel was going to find a lawyer and disown him as a brother. “I don’t think anyone would think that would be a tasteful combination of flavors to begin with. Regardless, please tell me that you did not wake me up for th-“

 

“Hey! What do you think about raspberry and coconut together? Like in a cake, maybe? I’m thinking about making something for when Anna’s spawn gets here.”

 

“I-yes,” Castiel gave another defeated sigh. “I suppose that would not be the worst combination you’ve come up with.” He rolled completely back onto his bed, closing his eyes. “Gabriel, please tell me you have a legitimate reason for calling me at this hour.”

 

“Duh, of course I do! Michael called me today. Actually, I guess it was technically yesterday.”

 

Castiel groaned to himself. This phone call had to qualify as cruel or unusual punishment. Or something else illegal. He didn’t want to think about their oldest sibling right now. Or, preferably, ever. He just wanted to sleep. He needed sleep.

 

“Let me guess, he called to ask you about me.”

 

“Bingo.” Gabriel drawled the O longer into the phone. “I know you don’t want to talk to him. Hell, I don’t want to talk to him either, but at least you can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

 

Castiel appreciated the warning, he did, but now the only thing he’d be able to think about for the next couple of weeks was the dread of having to speak with Michael again. The alpha mumbled his thanks to Gabriel, a little annoyed and more than ready to fall back asleep.

 

“Brace yourself for him, buddy. So anyways, I was talking to the Captain and-"

 

“I would hope you would be talking to the Captain, seeing as she’s your mate.” Castiel couldn’t help interrupting. Gabriel deserved to be sassed for waking him up, but he found himself too tired to make any further remarks about how much he regretted introducing Gabriel to their police Captain, Kali, at the precinct Christmas party years ago.

 

For example, Castiel’s desk happened to be positioned closest to Captain Kali’s office, and he has grown very weary of being hit by wayward paper airplanes thrown by Gabriel from his own desk towards Kali’s office. Gabriel once compared his attempted method of communication to something related to a white bird and a place called Hogwarts, but Castiel highly doubted that Gabe’s obscenely sexual drawings on the airplanes depicting his evening plans with his mate were appropriate for any school aged children, magical or not.

 

Castiel considered it a small miracle that Gabriel was only capable of drawing stick figures.

 

“Yes, well, _anyways_ -“ Gabriel sighed dramatically. “She wanted me to tell you that some house is on fire downtown that looks a lot like the work of that one serial arsonist we’ve been after for a while.”

 

Gabriel spoke with so much nonchalance that it took a minute before Castiel’s sleep addled brain processed what had been said.

 

“Wait, what?” Castiel’s eyes flew open and he whipped back the covers of his bed. “Dammit, Gabriel. Why didn’t you _start the conversation with that_?!”

 

He dove into the darkness towards the floor, where he had left his work clothes in a heap after getting home late last night.

 

Castiel hurriedly pulled his wrinkled slacks over the boxers he wore to bed and started running through the apartment to find his coat.

 

There hadn’t been a lead on this arsonist in over a month and a half, and Castiel would be damned if he didn’t at least see the flames before they were put out.

 

“You know,” Gabriel’s voice buzzed through the phone held between Castiel’s shoulder and cheek while he fumbled over the buttons of his dress shirt. “I’m a little hurt that you care more about some arsonist than your favorite brother.”

 

“Gabriel, this is your case too, we’re partners-“

 

“Calm down, jeez. _Where’s the fire?_ Am I right?” Gabriel chuckled to himself over the cheesy line.

 

“That is exactly my problem, what is the address of the fire?”

 

“Oh c’mon, that was a classic joke! Ugh fine, you’re like, zero fun right now.”

 

“ _Gabriel-“_

“Yeah, yeah. Texting you the address of the fire right now. Don’t get your pretty face into a car crash on your way over, little bro.”

 

* * *

 

The fire was in a suburban neighborhood a few minutes away from Castiel’s apartment, so he pulled up just in time to see firemen rush into the burning house. Slowly walking from his car, parked down the street to be safe, he absentmindedly started knotting the tie he grabbed in his rush out the door.

 

Castiel counted one fire truck, two police cruisers, and Gabe’s bright yellow car parked nearby; with an ambulance approaching from a couple blocks away.

 

Clouds of black and white smoke poured out of the house in front of him and rose high into the sky, forming a tall shadow overhead that made the whole scene appear rather ominous, Castiel thought.

 

As the alpha watched the flames, it was easy to assume that they had spread quickly; the house was already almost completely engulfed. The basic structure of the house still looked relatively intact though, indicating the fire must have started everywhere at almost the same time. A natural house fire would weaken at least one portion of the house first, where it originated and intensified, before catching and spreading to other parts of the house.

 

Only a few neighbors seemed to have taken notice of the commotion and walked onto their lawns, another indication that the flames just recently appeared. Castiel had never been the best at understanding human behavior, but he assumed there would be more people spectating a fire this large if it had been burning for some time.

 

Both were telltale indicators that copious amounts of lighter fluid had been used, an almost-signature sign that this fire was the work of the serial arsonist they were after.

 

The bitter smell of the neighbors’ fear saturating the air quickly snapped Castiel out of his own mind, however, and he turned to the alpha and beta couple huddled in bathrobes on the porch nearest him and gave what he hoped was a consoling nod before crossing the street towards the commotion surrounding the burning home.

 

Approaching the fire truck parked in front of the house, the air shifted to the scent of the firefighters’ anxiousness, but Castiel was too concentrated watching them shout at each other and haul water hoses around to be bothered by it.

 

“Hey, you got here in time for the fireworks, congrats,” Castiel jumped, noticing his brother’s vanilla bean beta scent a moment too late to be spared the surprise.

 

“Neighbor over there,” Gabriel continued, nodding towards a house to the left, “said she was coming back late from a ‘friend’s house’, if you know what I mean,” he waggled his eyebrows. “And was sitting in her car updating her Instagram or some shit, when she saw someone run out the back of this house,” a nod towards the burning home, “said she thought they were a robber and started calling 911, and then the place caught on fire seconds later.”

 

“That would explain why emergency services were able to respond to this scene much faster than the other four fires.”

 

“This omega might have a fighting chance,” said Gabriel, nodding again in assent, before both brothers turned to watch the firefighters spray down the small building. 

 

They didn’t have to watch for long before something happened.

 

Just as Gabriel started mumbling under his breath about toasted marshmallows, a large firefighter burst out the front door, quickly followed by a taller firefighter carrying the limp body of a woman. All three of them were blackened with soot, and an explosion of flame licked at their backs as they ran; the force of it strong enough to actually knock the tall firefighter to the ground, and Castiel watched the bigger one backtrack to help the other one scramble to their feet.  

 

The trio broke apart once they made it onto the grass. The first, larger firefighter turned and started yelling instructions to their comrades, while the one carrying the woman kept rushing directly towards the ambulance that had since pulled up behind the firetruck.

 

Underneath the grime and smoke clinging to the firefighter and woman, Castiel was able to scent two omegas as they hustled past where he stood. Their scents were kind of muddled together, but one smelled like absolute panic, which he was willing to bet belonged to the woman that had been trapped inside her burning home. The second scent, however, smelled like pure honey and leather, and made Castiel’s knees waver a little. A blush of heat came over his body that had nothing to do with his proximity to the fire. There were traces of anxiousness and concern, but he knew, without a doubt, the intoxicatingly sweet earthy scent belonged to the tall firefighter.

 

He was so absorbed with scenting and following the firefighter with his eyes, Castiel barely acknowledged Gabriel patting his shoulder and running off to talk to someone else.

 

The firefighter carried the woman bridal style in their arms all the way to the stretcher waiting beside the ambulance. Castiel watched them gently lower the woman onto the stretcher, where Jess, a curly blonde ambulance medic was already taking note of the woman’s injuries.

 

The lanky beta ambulance driver with a mousy face, who Castiel vaguely remembered was named Garth, came around from the front to pull out thick gauze-like materials from cabinets inside the ambulance and handed them to Jess, while the firefighter roughly yanked the oxygen mask off their face to say something to her.

 

Castiel was too far away to hear the omega’s voice over the sounds of the other firemen behind him, but it sounded decidedly masculine.

 

The omega fireman then took his yellow helmet off, running a sooty gloved hand through short dark blond hair, and leaving streaks of black behind as ash stuck to his sweat. A quick glance around, like the omega was looking for something, revealed the rest of the man’s features, and Castiel was pretty sure that’s when his heart stopped beating.

 

The fireman was absolutely _gorgeous_.  And not in a typical omega manner that would have made Castiel’s mother proud, but in a completely original and _right_ way.

 

A strong jaw line and pointed nose made up the determined structure of the man’s expression, along with light colored eyes and curved, almost feminine lips.

 

Castiel didn’t think he’d ever seen a more mesmerizing omega, and combined with his amazing scent, Castiel’s heart rate immediately skyrocketed with nerves from being in the same vicinity of such a perfect man.      

 

He watched the omega replace his helmet, still talking with Jess as the two of them wrapped the woman from the house with the white sheets. A blackened glove waved away Jess and Garth, as the fireman lifted the entire stretcher and woman into the ambulance without any help, demonstrating a physical strength that made Castiel clamp down on his tongue and bite back a groan. With a slam, the firefighter closed the back doors of the ambulance, then stood back and watched it shift into drive and head to the hospital.

 

The omega didn’t move for another couple of seconds, and then slowly turned on the spot to lock eyes with Castiel.

 

He stood still for another moment before starting to walk in Castiel’s direction at an unhurried pace, expression calm - too calm - as if he wasn’t aware that Castiel has had approximately five heart attacks since laying eyes on the stunning omega.

 

As the fireman neared, the green of his eyes became more noticeable, and Castiel was up to six heart attacks.

 

“Nice shirt.” A voice like whiskey came out of the omega, the deep timbre of it lighting a spark of heat in the bottom of Castiel’s stomach and making his heart thud painfully.

 

Reluctantly dragging his eyes away from the brilliant spring green eyes, Castiel slowly lifted his forearm to investigate what the omega was talking about, staring at nothing but his plain white cotton dress shirt.

 

Confused, he glanced back up at the omega, noticing the eyes staring back at him now shone with amusement.

 

“No, your other one, I like it.” the omega continued to pass by, giving one last look out the corner of his eyes and a smirk before completely walking out of Castiel’s line of sight.

 

He looked back down towards his shirt, wondering why such an exquisite omega would say he liked the boring white shirt Castiel found on his bedroom floor and he was pretty sure was-

_Fuck._

 

In his rush out the door, he haphazardly threw on his work clothes from yesterday over his pajamas, neglecting to also grab the white undershirt he usually wore underneath his dress shirt. So, to Castiel’s utter dismay, underneath his wrinkled day-old shirt, the black and yellow Batman logo on the shirt he wore to sleep was clearly visible through the thin dress shirt’s fabric. 

 

Fuck. Castiel continued to glare at his chest, cursing his stupidity, until Gabriel’s voice called out to him.

 

“Cassie, c’mon, let’s talk to Bobby while those man servants of his start cleaning up the scene.”

 

A hot flash of anger shot through Castiel at the thought of that omega being anyone’s servant, making the alpha inside him rage in indignation. 

 

Castiel froze mid-step. He knew alpha pheromones could react stronger than normal when they met a potential mate, but he had never _experienced_ it before. Nothing had ever set his alpha off like that. Fear quickly gripped his chest, dousing the alpha anger just as quickly as it had arisen.

 

He had never felt that strongly towards a beta or omega. How could one whiff of that omega fireman be enough for him lose control of his baser emotions like that? Was that normal? 

 

It didn’t matter, some miserable part of Castiel thought. There hadn’t been anything in the omega’s scent to indicate he was mated, but everything about him was too perfect to suggest the omega lacked suitors. Castiel had nothing to offer that another alpha couldn’t.

 

Sunlight had practically radiated out of the omega when he had given Jess a brief smile minutes ago. His eyes were so clear and pure, and Castiel was positive that he would never get to see their green shade again. It’s not like he deserved to see them again anyway. 

 

Shaking the depressing array of emotions from his head, Castiel continued his trek towards Gabriel. Talking to Captain Singer from the fire department to figure out if any indications of foul play were discovered was more important than his feelings, Castiel reminded himself.

 

“What was up with that whole Dr. Freeze act just now? You looked constipated. You feeling alright?” Gabriel asked.

 

“I don’t understand that reference, and no,” Castiel rubbed his forehead at the headache that was slowly forming from the thoughts in his head. “I assure you that my bowel movements are quite regular. I believe the early morning and recent lack of sleep has finally caught up and is affecting me negatively.”  

 

“I’m proud of your poop, Cassie. Keep up the good fiber.”

 

“Thank you Gabriel. Your support means the world to me,” Castiel replied dryly.

 

“I don’t doubt it. You put your tie on while walking again?”

 

Castiel squinted at Gabriel’s questioning look. “Yes? What relevance does that have to the situation?”

 

“None,” Gabriel shrugged. “Just figured you’d like to know that its backwards again.”

 

Looking down again, Castiel cursed. Not only was his Batman pajama shirt easily seen through the dress shirt, but he had been too distracted by the fire that he, once again, tied his tie backwards while walking from his car.

 

The omega surely must have been smirking at him because he appeared absolutely ridiculous. If Castiel thought the omega would never give him a chance before, he had a negative chance with him now, which didn’t even make sense in his sleep deprived mind, but was nevertheless still true.

 

Miserable disappointment washed over his brief embarrassment and drowned the traitorous parts inside him screaming that Castiel would gladly look ridiculous for the rest of his life just to see that smirk tease him again.

 

Castiel ducked his head so Gabriel wouldn’t be able to see his expression, hoping his scent didn’t give him away as they walked towards the fire Captain shouting orders to firemen around the smoking house, determined not to look up and seek out sparkling green eyes.

 

* * *

 

 

Dean gave one last look to the woman being wrapped like a burrito with the special burn sheets in the back of the ambulance before shutting the doors and watching them drive off.

 

Garth’s voice buzzed quietly out of radio strapped to his shoulder, alerting the hospital that the ambulance was on their way, but Dean’s focus was now on the scent of an alpha nearby. He scented them in the air as soon as he got the omega woman onto the stretcher, and it had taken almost everything to not turn around and start sniffing.

 

It smelled like rainstorms and apple pie at the same time. Like it was raining apples and cinnamon. No, maybe more like there was a thunderstorm inside an apple pie bakery. That didn’t sound right either, Dean decided, but _G_ _od damn_ if it wasn’t the most amazing scent he had ever smelled in his entire life. His inner omega was practically drooling in appreciation of it.

 

Dean almost didn’t want to turn around and find out who the alpha was. The smell was too good to be real. With Dean’s luck, chances were that it was some butt ugly alpha with a superiority complex that would ruin the scent of apple pies for Dean for like, forever.

 

 _Suck it up, Winchester_. It’s just a smell.

 

With a deep breath, accidentally allowing more of the scent to bless his nostrils, he steeled himself to turn back around and help his crew finish putting out the fire.

 

As soon as he turned, he caught sight of an alpha standing by the end of the fire truck and glaring at Dean.

 

The alpha seemed pretty attractive, Dean guessed, even though the guy was scowling. Medium height, probably a little shorter than Dean, tan-ish skin, and messy dark hair that made it look like he had just gone three rounds in bed with someone that Dean was really starting to wish was him.

 

 _His smell_ though, and it couldn’t be anyone else’s smell but his - no one else was close enough, and Dean already knew what all the alphas on his fire crew smelled like. This man’s scent was _heavenly_.

 

If Dean walked the long way around the truck just so he could get closer to the source of the amazing scent, nobody had to know.

 

As he approached, the alpha standing as frozen as a statue, Dean realized his assessment of _pretty attractive_ was a massive understatement. The alpha’s face was all sharp angles, high cheekbones, and full lips pulled into a tight frown, which was more adorable than it should have been.

 

The alpha’s eyes were what really tripped Dean up. They were without a doubt the most striking blue eyes he had ever seen, and had the omega inside Dean itching to present to this alpha.

 

Dean shut down his inner omega immediately. He didn’t need to be affected like that by some random alpha, and he certainly wasn’t going to _present_ for him. Stranger danger, and all that jazz. He wasn’t one of those weak omegas that threw themselves on alphas’ feet just for a knot, and he didn’t plan on starting now.  

 

Deciding that staring at the alpha’s eyes anymore was dangerous, he dropped his gaze and checked out the ugly trench coat and baggy dress clothes that practically drowned the brunet’s figure, noticing that the underside of his tie was showing. Dean focused on that tie, the same blue as the man’s eyes, and glanced at the shirt beneath the tie. The colors of a black undershirt and a yellow logo bleeding through were just barely visible through the thin dress shirt’s material.  

 

“Nice shirt,” Dean looked back up at the blue eyes. Dude was clearly wearing a Batman shirt underneath his work clothes, and Dean was digging it. Maybe it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to present to this alpha, if his taste in superheroes was that awesome.

 

The guy stared at the cuff of his shirt peeking out the end of the trench coat’s sleeve, before looking back at Dean, head in a confused tilt.

 

“No,” Dean couldn’t hold back his smirk any longer, “the other one, I like it.”

 

The alpha didn’t look back down though, keeping his eyes locked on Dean’s as they passed.

 

Smooth, Winchester, real smooth. Dean hadn’t planned on saying anything to the guy, but the confused puppy look the alpha gave him was adorable enough to make Dean not even care how awkward his words had been. _Nice shirt_? Seriously? Jesus.

 

Benny was on the other side of the fire truck attempting to brush ash off the sleeves of his uniform, which was more than a little futile, when Dean finally made it around to the front of the truck and the two firefighters faced the burning house.

 

“You think she’s gonna be alright, brother?”

 

“No idea, but Jess’ll do whatever she can. Most of her burns looked first or second degree,” Dean eyed the soot dusting his own air mask before refastening it back around his face, as he and Benny rejoined the firefighters near the house. The flames were almost completely put out, surprisingly fast, but there were still some hot spots in the structure they needed to work on.

 

“True, they didn’t look too bad. You notice she had blood all over though?”

 

 Dean looked over at Benny. The smell of the alpha’s concern mixed in with his usual woodsy scent and was noticeable even through the thick layers of their gear.

 

“Yeah, a lot of blood.” Dean sighed. “Smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning are always real bitches, but I’m guessing that whatever the fucker did to her before she got tied up in there was probably worse.”

 

“Sick son of a bitch.” Benny’s deep voice rumbled.

 

Dean couldn’t help but agree. 

 

Looking around to survey the crew’s progress, he spotted Bobby talking to two men a little further down the sidewalk. One of them was the blue eyed alpha, standing a couple inches taller than the long haired man next to him. The second man was holding out a badge of some sort to Bobby and asking him something.

 

Dean let his eyes trace over the serious expression on the alpha’s face, lingering a little longer where he knew the Bat Signal was hiding on the alpha’s broad chest, before returning his focus to the house.

 

* * *

 

 

Castiel didn’t know how Gabriel always managed to get out of going to the hospital to ask questions, but there Castiel was, walking through the hospital parking lot alone.

 

Their talk with Captain Singer had been useless; the only information of interest he had was that the smoke alarm inside the house never went off, which was also the case in the other four arsonist’s fires. Singer hadn’t been able to provide anything further about the fire, since his crew was still too busy putting out the flames to analyze much of anything, putting Castiel and Gabriel out of luck - and resulting in Castiel having to travel to the hospital in search of answers.

  

Automatic doors slowly inched open as he approached, admitting Castiel into the Emergency Room’s lobby. The strong smell of disinfectant and sickness surrounded him, almost drowning out the lingering scents of the two ambulance workers and the female omega that had been pulled from the fire.

 

Castiel had to shut down his inner alpha’s momentary burst of pride over _his omega saving her_ , because it was illogical to consider a man he exchanged eye contact with once to be ‘his omega’. Not to mention also derogatory and offensive to whomever the fireman happened to be.   

 

With a sigh at his annoying inner monologue, he turned a corner and typed in the key code to the EMS Work Room, where Castiel had been informed ambulance providers ‘hung out’ to fill out paperwork after dropping off patients.

 

Sure enough, as soon as the door swung open, Castiel was greeted with the fresher scents of a mated beta and mated omega. Taking a step into the room, he saw the smiling faces of the two ambulance workers.

 

“Detective Castiel! We saw you at that fire, a real shame we didn’t get a chance to come over and say hi before we left, though. How’re you doin’, friend?” Garth stood up from his chair and wrapped a lanky arm around Castiel’s shoulders and squeezed.

 

The alpha had been previously unaware that his relationship with the mated beta had reached an intimate enough level that allowed for hugging, but the contact wasn’t completely unpleasant, and Castiel gave a singular pat to the beta’s back before taking a step away.

 

“Fine. Thank you. My partner and I have been in charge of a case involving a serial arsonist, whom we believe is responsible for the fire we were just at.”

 

“Well, Detective,” Garth lowered his voice and gave the alpha a look that Castiel could only describe as the epitome of overly-concerned; “you know that we’re here to help in any way we can for your investigation."

 

Jess’ curly ponytail bounced as she nodded in agreement, too focused on the patient information she was filing out on a laptop to verbalize anything.

 

“Thank you for your assistance. I was actually hoping that the victim from the house fire might be awake and able to answer some questions?”

 

“No can do, hombre. She’s still out cold,” Garth said as he returned to his chair.

 

“She didn’t wake up at all when we were transporting her here either,” Jess added, looking up from the paperwork. “The hospital staff put her in a medically induced coma once we got here to reduce inflammation. The amount of blood she lost is making her internal systems weaker; it might have made her more susceptible to damage from the smoke and chemicals she breathed in, and it’ll make it harder for her body to recover at all.”

 

“Ah,” Castiel sighed, unsurprised but still feeling a little upset about the victim’s condition and that his and Gabe’s questions would go unanswered again. “Well, thank you for the information, and for your time.”

 

He started moving towards the door when Jess quietly spoke again.

 

“All the other victims have died, right?”

 

Castiel nodded, the scent of Garth’s sadness joining the worried scents already circling the air. “Yes. This woman is the only one that’s made it to a hospital alive. Three of the other victims were pronounced dead at the scene of the fire, and one passed during the ambulance ride.”

 

Which, despite the incredibly depressing topic, immediately reminded Castiel again of the beautiful green eyed omega that had saved the life of the only surviving omega victim. His inner alpha tried to swell with pride again that his- _not his_ \- omega was so heroic. Castiel stomped it deep down before the scent could be smelled on him, which would have been a very inappropriate scent given the current conversation.

 

Speaking of the omega though, a traitorously logical part of his brain kept shouting that the firefighter would have to be debriefed about what he saw in the burning home, and could possibly provide better answers than Captain Singer.  “So, um,” Castiel started, nervous lump forming in his throat. “The fireman that saved her, you, uh, you know him?” the alpha finished lamely.

 

He _had_ seen the green eyed man talking to Jess before putting the unconscious omega in the ambulance, and their conversation had seemed to flow fairly smoothly, with smiles exchanged, possibly an indicator of a previously established friendship, or maybe because the omega’s perfectly pink lips had been too hypnotic to ignore when they moved to talk, forming out words with-

 

“Oh, you mean Dean?”

 

Castiel sighed in grateful relief that Jess interrupted the increasingly sexual and _unprecedented_ thoughts in his head.

 

“I-yes, I suppose. _Dean_.” The alpha cleared his throat, “I believe questioning him may be beneficial for the investigation.”

 

God, he needed to get himself under control if he was going to make himself interview to the omega. Dammit. He shouldn’t. He shouldn’t interview the firefighter. He could just ask Bobby questions again. It would be fine. This was a bad idea.

 

“Oh, of course!” Jess jumped out of her seat enthusiastically, digging through her pockets for something, and Castiel’s inner alpha couldn’t help but agree that he’d be that excited too if he was on a first name basis with such a stunning omega.

 

“Man, Dean’s crazy! Stubborn sonnovabitch, too. Gotta love that man,” Garth chuckled, shaking his head fondly.

 

“That, he is.” Jess leveled Garth with an annoyed expression, the corners of her lips betraying the beginnings of an amused smile. “The only person I know that’s more stubborn than Dean, is Sam. How lucky I am to be stuck with both of them.” Her smile turned sarcastic as she turned back to Castiel. “Dean’ll be more than happy to talk to you, Castiel. I’m pretty sure his shift ends at 7AM, but I’d wait until the afternoon to ask him anything. He’s pretty grumpy before he gets his after-shift nap.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.” Castiel hoped his voice didn’t betray the hint of disappointment sinking through him at not being able to talk to the omega until later, but nervous excitement still jolted awkwardly through his body over the thought of talking to _Dean_. Which Castiel still wasn’t sure he should do; his inner alpha would most likely do something rash around the omega, and Castiel couldn’t handle the thought of embarrassing himself further in front of the firefighter.

 

If this was what infatuation felt like, he’s not sure he liked it. The feelings were very confusing.

 

“Sounds good. I have his number if you want?” Jess finally pulled out what she had been looking for in her pockets, a cell phone, and looked at Castiel expectantly.

 

“Oh, n-no. That’s fine. I-uh, I don’t need it.” The alpha felt his cheeks start to burn, and he looked down at his hands to hide the blush spreading over his face. Having the omega’s personal cell phone would be too intimate. He didn’t even know Dean. _He wanted to_.

 

Castiel swore in that moment Jess was a mind reader, because she started looking at him with a too knowing smile, and he didn’t like it a all. “Well, how are you supposed to question him if you don’t have his phone number? It is for _a very important investigation_ , after all. Right, Castiel?”

 

Dammit, Jess. “Y-yes. I suppose his contact information would be helpful for… contacting him.” Castiel could almost punch himself for how pathetic he sounded. Gabriel most certainly would have.  

 

Jess’ smile grew wider as she slid her phone over the work room’s table towards Castiel, and he copied Dean’s phone number into his own cell.

 

“Thank you. I’ll be sure to notify you two if I need any more information regarding this morning.” Castiel said once he finished, and walked over to the door, opening it and peering into the ER’s lobby once again.

 

“Hey Detective,” Garth’s voice called back just as the alpha had begun to step out of the EMS workroom. “Good luck.” The beta winked, and Castiel had a feeling Garth wasn’t talking about the investigation.

 

The alpha gave a quick nod to the two of them before practically running to escape.

 

Unbelievable. When had he turned into such an absolute mess? The only thing that could have made his affections more obvious was if he had shouted over the hospital intercom that he was head over heels for an omega firefighter he’d barely met, at the scene of a hate crime fire. 

 

This was so not the relaxing Saturday he had envisioned for himself. 

 


	2. The One Where Dean's Phone Bill Goes Up

“You’ve reached Dean Winchester’s phone, he’s too busy watching busty Asian beta porn to come to the phone right now. May I take a message?”

 

Dean snapped up from the homemade burger patties he was shaping and saw his younger brother standing up from the couch holding Dean’s phone, a wicked grin spreading over the alpha's face.

 

“Sammy,” the omega warned lightly, because Sam would only answer the phone like that if he knew the person calling. Right?

  
“Oh, I’m sorry, who is this?” Shit. Not good. Sam’s smile widened as he edged around the side of the couch, towards the bathroom door. “Oh, yeah totally,” the young alpha sarcastically nodded his enthusiasm to the caller on the other line. “Dean would definitely be down to do some princess roleplay in the bedroom.”

 

“Sammy! What-who is it?!” Dean started running towards his brother, but Sam sprinted the remaining distance to the bathroom and shut the door before Dean could reach him, the alpha effectively locking himself inside. “Sammy, I swear to God, who are you talking to on my phone?” Dean growled and rammed his shoulder into the closed door.

 

“What’s that? Dean is the princess? He gets a tiara?”

 

“Sam, if my hands weren’t covered in raw meat right now, this door would already be unlocked and you would be _dead_.” Dean was most definitely not pouting as he stalked back into the kitchen, angrily resuming his process of shaping the sticky patties. “I am making you food, God dammit. You should be _grateful_!” he couldn’t help but shout back at the closed door.

 

A whole five minutes passed by before Sam emerged from the safety of the bathroom. “Don’t worry, it was just Bobby calling.” The younger brother answered, cutting off Dean’s question before he could even ask it, and tossed Dean’s phone to the couch cushions on his way into the kitchen, taking up a leaning position against the countertop beside the omega.

 

“Yeah?  What’d he want?”

 

“We caught up a bit, mostly. He and Ellen invited us to dinner next Friday.” Sam poked the burger meat with a spatula while he spoke, careful not to get any of the raw meat on his hands. “He was calling to let you know some detective called the station, though. Asking questions about the fire this morning. And Bobby didn’t want to handle it so he gave the guy your number.”

 

Dean’s only response was a groan.

 

“He said something about how it was your ‘duty to the station as his Lieutenant’” Sam’s mouth quirked up at the obviously bullshit line Bobby had given.

 

“Lazy bastard,” Dean mumbled. Like hell was dealing with detectives ‘his duty’.

 

The brothers snorted in unison before falling into comfortable silence, both concentrating on Dean’s hands continuing to form their burgers.

 

“So get this,” the alpha’s scent suddenly turned excited, but Dean could see him fighting to keep his posture relaxed, like he always did before talking about something he knew Dean wouldn't like. “Jess came back from work this morning and said that someone at the fire asked for your number afterwards.” Sam went on, putting both hands on the counter to peer closer and gauge his brother’s response; his expression so hopeful that Dean would’ve laughed if he wasn’t so annoyed by it.

 

“Get your dirty moose paws away from my burgers, man.” Dean snapped instead, prioritizing food as more important than the topic of dating. Because food _was_ more important than his love life. 

 

And honestly, the only person from the fire that Dean would _possibly_ be interested in was the angry cop with the sex hair and blue eyes. But Jess was on scene for all of like, 2 minutes, and Dean knew the guy didn’t talk to her before she left for the hospital. Which meant that one of Jess’ ambulance or nurse buddies must've asked for Dean’s number. Which - shit - was _not_ happening. He’d already learned his lesson about hooking up with her coworkers, and he wasn’t too eager to find out how serious Jess’ previous threats of castration were.

 

“Dean, c’mon,” Sam practically pouted. “Jess said the guy is really sweet - a little odd - but still really nice! I think you should give him a shot.” The taller man paused, and Dean figured he was about 30 seconds away from being hit with Sammy’s puppy eyes. “He’s also an alpha….”

 

Dean scoffed, “like that changes anything.”

 

Even if he wanted to date one of Jess’ coworkers (which he really, really did not; he liked where his balls were just fine), he didn’t want an alpha. Or anyone, really.

 

Contrary to popular belief, Dean was a mature individual. Actually, that was a fucking joke, but he was mature enough to recognize he’d always been afraid of someone else getting too close and confirming that Dean was exactly as fucked up as he thought he was, and then leave.

 

It was a pretty justifiable fear, he thought. All you had to do was look at his relationship track record for proof. The longest one he managed before the other person got sick of him only lasted three weeks. Three fucking weeks. He had already accepted that nobody would ever want to put up with him for the long run, and that was okay. He was okay with it. He wasn't meant for relationships, plain and simple. Dean didn’t think he was good enough to deserve a family of his own, either. And one of Jess' coworkers wasn't going to change that.

 

Shades of intense blue flooded his brain for a second, but Dean didn’t want to think about what it was. It didn’t mean anything.

 

Fuck this conversation. Dean was over it.

 

But Sammy – the little shit - was still determined. “Dean, _c’mon_. Jess thinks this guy might actually like you.”  

 

Honestly, it's like Sam had totally forgotten how terribly Dean's last fling with one of Jess' friends had ended. Dean had to actually hire people to help clean up all the shit the girl had angrily broken in his apartment after he'd dumped her. 

 

“Why would I need a mate when I have my baby brother, his gorgeous mate, and their puppy to keep me company?” Dean mocked, hoping Sam would just get the hint and shut the hell up. 

 

“You do realize you threatened to kill me less than 10 minutes ago, right.”

 

Dean looked up from the plate he was arranging patties on to give the young alpha an innocent expression, and raised his voice an octave higher, purposely trying to sound sickeningly sweet. “Hey now, I was just joking. I’d never actually kill you.”

 

“Wow. How kind of you, Dean. Really, I’m flattered.” Sam deadpanned, lips twitching to hide his amusement.

 

“Oh c’mon, you know you’re my favorite brother, Sammy.”

 

This time Sam's smile cracked. “I’m your only brother, Dean. No need to get dramatic; I know this is probably the most emotional you’ve been in months. Don’t strain yourself.”

 

“You’re the only one I trust enough to be vulnerable around, Sammy.” Dean kept up his innocent expression and reached out to caress his younger brother’s face. “Only you.”

 

Dean watched the confused and affectionate emotions play out on the alpha’s face, seeing the exact moment Sam realized Dean’s hands were still covered in burger meat.

 

His face immediately twisted in horror and Dean threw his head back laughing as his younger brother started frantically grabbing paper towels to wipe off the trails of raw meat Dean’s hands had left behind on his cheek.

 

“Dean that’s fucking disgusting! How old are you, 12? It’s in _my hair_ , Dean! This isn’t funny, jerk!”

 

* * *

 

 

An hour later, the brothers found themselves lounging on Dean’s couch, each nursing a beer and watching the news while their burgers digested. Sam had the remote, wanting to see the images of fire and smoke from that morning being re-shown while Dean sat next to him, silently remembering the weight of the bloodied, unconscious woman in his arms.

 

Thankfully, the snotty reporter rattling off about the arsons was only background noise to Sam's rambling, but the omega’s eyes still wandered to the TV every time bright flashes of red illuminated the screen. He was zoning out on a video of the blackened roof caving in on the burned home, absently listening to Sam plan his and Jess’ date for the evening, when his cell’s ringtone went off. An unknown number lit up the phone’s screen, and Dean debated letting it go to voicemail before begrudgingly accepting the call.

                            

“This is Dean.”

 

“Uh-h-hello. Is this Lieutenant Dean Winchester of Engine Company 26?” A deep voice stuttered over the other end of the phone line.

 

Ah, fuck. Dean sighed. This must be the detective Bobby called about.

 

“The one and only. What can I do for you?”

 

The alpha heaved himself off the couch, whispering that he’d see Dean later to babysit, and the omega gave a wave as Sam quietly left the apartment for the omega to deal with the police business on his own.

 

“Yes, well,” The detective cleared his throat, making his voice sound even deeper than before. “My name is Detective Castiel Novak of the Sioux Falls Police Department, and I-,” the guy stopped to clear his throat again, and seriously? This guy must gargle with whiskey, because “I have some questions in regards to the fire earlier this morning,” came out as rough as gravel.

 

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead and shoot.” Dean replied, suddenly reminded of the alpha cop from the fire that smelled like pie. Starting to daydream, wondering if this Detective Novak guy was coworkers with the blue eyed alpha, he picked up the remote and began absentmindedly flipping through TV shows while he waited for the detective respond. 

 

“Discharging my weapon would be of no assistance in this situation. I only have a few questions to ask you, and I assure you that they’re all relatively nonviolent.”

 

The omega paused his channel surfing, then let out a chuckle. Either this guy - Castiel Novak - took everything entirely literally, or had the driest sense of humor Dean had ever heard.

 

“Right. Well, ask away then.” He took another sip of his beer; the brief smile on his face slipping with the growing sense of unease he felt about this.

 

Dean was probably going to say something wrong and accidentally fuck up the guy’s whole investigation. That sounded like a Dean move. What if he didn’t know any of the answers? What kind of firefighter did that make him if he couldn’t answer questions about _literally his job_? Maybe he’d give the detective Benny’s number at the end of the call, just to be sure. He was a lot better with words than Dean.

 

“Was your crew able to determine the origin of the fire? Did you discover any possibilities that it was sparked by wires shortages, causing an electrical fire, or if it was a kitchen accident?”

 

“Nope.” That wasn’t too bad, he thought. Even Dean could answer that without screwing up. “The place was torched on purpose, somebody knew what they were doing. It couldn’t have taken more than 2 or 3 minutes for that fire to light up the entire structure. Which is - lemme guess - why you’re investigating it in the first place.” Because of course his mouth had to add some smartass comment to the end of it. Way to stay professional, Winchester.

 

The detective made a noncommittal noise into the phone. “You are correct. I’m assuming you’ve heard of the serial arsonist here in Sioux Falls, given your occupation.”

 

“Yeah, what is this, the fourth fire? Fifth?” Not to sound insensitive, but they’ve been going on for so long that Dean had lost count of how many news reports and lectures he’d heard at the station about them. And not because he couldn’t count very high, but because he’d heard a lot.

 

“The fifth fire to occur in the past seven months.” Castiel confirmed. “My partner and I have been trying to track them, however the search has been mostly composed of dead ends and a lack of evidence, so any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.”

 

A small smile raised a corner of Dean’s lips. Who even used ‘occupation’ or ‘composed’ anymore in normal conversation? The detective’s tone was soft, though. He sounded more socially awkward than impersonal or cold hearted. It was kind of endearing to Dean. Kind of not. Actually, no, it was more than a little sweet, and it made the omega feel a bit more confident about not fucking up his answers.

 

“Okay,” Dean began, “The bedroom looked like it was in worse condition than the rest of the house, but not by much. If I had to guess, I’d say the fire started there first, and then the arsonist lit the rest of the house on their way out or something. But don’t quote me on that,” the omega trailed off, “it’s only a guess. Probably not right.”

 

“No, no, De-Lieutenant Winchester,” Detective Novak rushed to disregard Dean’s self-consciousness. “Any theories you have are useful. You are more of a fire professional than I am, after all."

 

“Thanks, man.” A small smile quirked up on Dean’s lips again, and he settled more into his couch, relaxed talking to the detective. “You can just call me Dean though, the Fire Department isn’t too big on official titles.”

 

“Dean,” The detective repeated, sounding a little breathy from the other side of the line. Maybe he had just walked up a flight of stairs. “Well, in that case, please call me Castiel.”

 

The silence that followed was tense, and Dean got the feeling he should have responded to prolong the moment, but he didn’t. No need to turn the phone call into a chick flick when he had never even met the other guy.

 

“Right. Got any more questions, Castiel?”

 

“Oh, yes. Of course,” Castiel mumbled, before resuming his professional tone. “In what circumstances did you find the homeowner?”

 

“Her, uh, wrists were tied to the bed, and there was a gag in her mouth. The only clothes on her were underwear, and there were a ton of cuts all over the exposed skin.” Dean shuddered a little at the memory. There was no way the image of the unconscious woman wouldn’t return to him in his nightmares soon.

 

“Noted. Unfortunately, all the other omegas were found in similar positions. The only exception was one omega with his hands tied to a chair instead of a bed. So, this likely indicates th-,” Castiel rumbled on, but Dean interrupted.

 

“Omegas?” He sat up straighter. “All of the arsonist’s victims have been omegas?” He hadn’t known that. A few of the guys that rescued the others had mentioned the victims were omegas, but Dean hadn’t known that _all_ of them were omegas.

 

“Yes,” the detective’s sigh sounded dejected through the phone’s speaker. “The only connection between the victims has been their designation and their status as unmated. No other commonalities have been found.”

 

Well shit. At least Jess wasn’t going to be a victim, being mated to Sam and all. Dean would bother worrying about Jo, but she’d probably terrify the murderer more than they’d scare her. Same with Charlie. He still made a mental note to check in on the two unmated omegas at The Roadhouse more often though, where they both still worked part time. Just to keep an eye on them. They were family, after all.

 

“I believe your silence is a product of your concern, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention that all the other victims have died before reaching the hospital. The woman you saved is the only one to have been rescued successfully.”

 

Just then, Dean’s remote clicked onto a TV channel playing _Star Wars: A New Hope_. He didn’t realize he had made a noise of excitement at the discovery until Castiel spoke again.

 

“I realize the success of saving a human’s life must be quite the adrenaline rush, however she is in a medically induced coma, and not many consider that a pleasant experience.”

 

“What? No-sorry! No, that wasn’t a noise of…a happy adrenaline rush or whatever. Shit, no, that’s not good news at all. _A New Hope_ is on, man. Sorry, guess I got a little distracted,” Dean hurried to explain, cursing his awful timing. Of all the conversations… “Wait - she’s the only one to survive? Why?”

 

“I believe the high fatality rate is because all the fires have tended to start at a time when most people would be asleep, so there’s no one to report them until it’s too late for the omega trapped inside. All the victims’ smoke detectors have been disabled prior to the start of the fire, as well.”

 

“Turning off a smoke detector completely off ain’t easy.” Dean said, determined to make up for his nerdy blunder and contribute to the case like a professional adult again. “Most of them are wired so that dumb homeowners can’t accidentally disable them. Your arsonist knows what the hell they’re doing if they’re able to figure out all the complicated wiring in those things.”

 

“Other evidence also suggests the arsonist has advanced intelligence.” Castiel affirmed.

 

There was a moment of silence after that, where Dean was split between concern of the arsonist and trying to remember what he saw in the fire. “I’m not sure this’ll be helpful or not,” Dean decided to start, “But there were a ton of towels thrown around everywhere inside the house. Like, in the kitchen and bathroom.” Never in all their years of firefighting had Benny or he seen towels scattered like that, and it left a weird feeling in Dean’s chest all morning. “Usually those places are the last to catch fire, because they’re so full of granite countertops and porcelain toilets and tile and that type of shit.”

 

This theory was starting to sound half-crazy even to him, but the omega figured he’d already started, so he might as well keep going with it. Hell, Cas had said _anything_ was useful. “I’m starting to think that your arsonist probably knew that too, if they’re so smart, and put the towels there on purpose to help ignite those hard surfaces faster. Cause towels catch on fire quicker, so,” yeah, this sounded insane, “maybe, they were supposed to act as like, fire concentrators in those rooms or something.”

 

Wow. Even Dean was impressed with how he’d managed to make that sound so much stupider out loud than it had in his head.

 

Should’ve kept his mouth shut.

 

But Castiel gave a thoughtful hum through the phone, “That would be consistent with what we know about the arsonist so far; they’re very proficient at igniting large fires quickly.”

 

The omega blinked in surprise at hearing the detective completely overlook how idiotic Dean’s entire speech had sounded. Cas was probably only being polite to do his job, though. Whatever. The omega wasn’t letting himself off the hook that easily for sounding like a complete dumbass. Thank God Dean hadn’t told that stupid theory to the blue eyed cop at the fire; he felt his inner omega almost cowering at the thought of embarrassing himself so badly in front of the gorgeous alpha.

 

Shit, Dean really hoped Cas wouldn’t tell the blue eyed guy about this. He could practically see the trench coat detective and Cas (judging from his voice, Dean guessed Cas was a 6’8” 275lbs chain smoker) laughing about him at the dumb water cooler where all the dumb cops on TV gossiped about dumb omega firefighters.

 

Okay, maybe he was blowing this out of proportion. Maybe Cas didn’t secretly think his theory was stupid. Not like it mattered anymore. Dean had already said it. Couldn’t hop in a DeLorean and take it back. The omega let his attention momentarily wander back to the TV to distract himself from the lingering embarrassment, watching Luke Skywalker walking around on the screen.

 

“Dean, if I may ask…” the detective’s voice was unsure, like he was deliberating on whether or not he wanted to actually ask whatever he was about to. Probably how to nicely phrase things like _are you mentally insane_ or _do you have the phone number of a more intelligent firefighter._ “What is _A New Hope_?”

 

Beer almost spewed from the omega’s mouth. “ _A New Hope?_ You know, like the _Star Wars_ movie?”

 

“Ah. I’ve never seen any of those films.”

 

This time, Dean actually did spit out his beer. “Nev-what?! They’re a classic! How are you even functional?”

 

“I have been told I function quite poorly, so there is a possibility that my lack of _Star Wars_ viewership has affected me negatively, as you suggest.”

 

Dean couldn’t even laugh at Cas’ (probably) joke. _Everybody_ has seen _Star Wars_. “Cas, man, seriously, turn on channel 18 right now and watch this movie.”

 

There was a moment of silence, and Dean quickly backtracked. Was he too harsh making fun of the guy’s lack of basic, totally necessary pop culture knowledge? Too rude? That was usually the case. Demanding?

 

“ _Cas_?” The omega heard tentatively repeated over the phone.

 

“Yeah, ‘Cas’. Castiel is kind of a mouthful, y’know. That alright?” He tried to make his reply sound as confident as possible, because right now he felt like a four year old for giving some random detective a nickname.

 

“Yes. I think I like it,” Cas’ deep voice sounded like he was surprised by himself. “Thank you, Dean.”

 

Dean felt a blush start to warm his face, not that he was embarrassed or anything, he was just-he didn’t know. “No problem, so-,” he cleared the awkward tension from his throat, “you going to watch _Star Wars_ or not?”

 

“Of course. It sounds like you recommend it very highly. I’m finding the correct channel now.”

 

The heat in Dean’s cheeks intensified. He ignored it.

 

The omega opened another beer, settling deeper into his couch, and listened to Cas’ occasionally confused comments. 

 

“This film is quite strange. Why are they living in a society technologically advanced enough to construct interactive robots, but the humans are wearing bathrobes? Is it customary to wear a blanket?”

 

“Jesus, Cas. They’re not blankets, they’re _Jedi cloaks_. Maybe they’re technologically advanced enough to know that real clothes suck.”

 

They were halfway through the movie before Dean realized he hadn’t even stopped to consider how weird it was to basically watch a movie with someone over the phone, in their separate homes.

 

As clueless as Cas was, talking about _Star Wars_ with him was actually kind of relaxing for Dean; he hadn’t even realized how tightly strung he’d been since the fire that morning. Although Cas wasn’t kidding when he said he had no idea what the movie was about, and the omega was surprisingly content to sit back and listen to the confused commentary for the rest of the movie, but something from their earlier conversation kept nagging at him.

 

“Hey Cas,” the omega tentatively spoke up, “You said the other four omegas from the fires died ‘cause nobody noticed until it was too late; why was the fire this morning called in sooner than the others?”

 

 “The next door neighbor arrived to her home late after a night with a friend. My partner believes she had been engaging in a 'booty call',” Cas sounded distant, distracted by Han Solo and Luke fighting their way out of the Death Star. “She saw the arsonist flee the victim’s house and called 911 thinking it was a robber. So you were-” a high pitched noise escaped from the other man when a laser beam came close to shooting Chewbacca “-already on your way when the fire ignited.”

 

Dean mulled that over. It still felt like there was something was missing. “Yeah, but we were farther away from the fire this morning than the other fire trucks were from all the previous fires.”

 

That caught Cas’ attention, and his voice returned to the questioning tone from before. “What do you mean?”

 

“Emergency calls are answered by whichever fire station is closest,” the omega began. “All the other fires were put out like that, but last night the closest fire station had problems with the engine in their firetruck and couldn’t respond to any calls. My station was the second closest, so we were dispatched instead. That’s called a next due response.

 

“Sioux Falls is small, but it isn’t small enough to only have one fire station,” Dean continued, hoping Cas was following him. “So, the town’s split up into four sections, with one station in each one. Except in EMS, we use the term ‘due’ instead of section. I have no fucking clue why. But anyway, all the fires were put out by fire engines in their first dues, except for last night’s fire. Which basically really only means that we had to drive a farther distance than the other engines did for the previous fires.”

 

“I see. Where is your first due?” Cas asked slowly.

 

“I’m with Engine Company 26, in the northeast part of town. So you’ll usually only ever see me if you burn your house down or get your cat stuck in a tree in the northeast.”

 

“Okay.” Cas still spoke like he was doing some deep thinking. “Which firetruck was supposed to go to the fire this morning?”

 

“Engine 28. They’re in the southeast.” Dean answered shortly, a little bummed he’d brought this conversation up in the middle of a really good part in the movie, because now Cas was missing it.

 

“So, as the next closest fire station, you were responsible for responding to emergencies within Engine 28’s due?” Cas asked.   

 

Dean felt himself smiling, for no reason. That wasn't funny at all. He just- Cas had a nice voice when he was confused. “Yep. Some other parts of Engine 28’s due were covered by the engine in the southwest, but yeah, that’s the gist of it. In a city this small, we were only three or four minutes farther away when we drove to the emergency than 28 would have been.  So it’s not that big of a deal, but it still would have made a difference with a structure fire like the one last night.”

 

“Okay.” The detective paused for a moment before speaking again, “I understand that you had to travel farther than the other engines did to get to the previous fires, but this also means that you weren’t supposed to be at the fire at all today?”

 

Huh. Dean hadn’t thought of it like that. “No. Engine 28 should have been the firetruck to go to that fire. Me and Engine 26 wouldn’t have been there on a normal night.”

 

There was a shuffling of papers from the other side of the call, and Cas sounded distracted again when he spoke. “I’m not sure where your first due extends to, but have there been any arsonist fires inside the portion of the city that your fire engine covers?”

 

“No, now that I think of it.” Dean said, a little dumbstruck by the revelation they were coming to. 

 

“My apologies, I don’t have all the paperwork for this case at my house, and I’m trying to find- Ah!” the sound of paper whooshed through the air, like Cas had waved it around triumphantly, or something equally as dorky. “According to this, the first fire was put out by Engine 25, in the southwest. The second, by Engine 28 in the southeast.  Then the next two were put out by Engine 23 - they must be the northwest zone, correct? And the fifth was-“

 

“Supposed to be put out by Engine 28, but wasn’t.” The omega finished.

 

He wasn’t a mathematical genius or Sammy or anything, but statistically, it didn’t make any sense why Engine 26 hadn’t been the closest firetruck to at least one of those fires.

 

Of course, it could be entirely random, a total coincidence that none of the fires had been in Engine 26’s first due.

 

But five fires was _a lot_.

 

“If we can prove the arsonist is purposefully avoiding Engine 26 or the northeast, it would be a critical break in the investigation. We could uncover the arsonist’s identity or patterns. Maybe even their motive.” Cas rambled on. Granted, this was the first time they’d ever talked, but Dean had never heard the detective sound so excited, until the other man heaved a deep sigh into the phone. “Although, it currently appears like victims are chosen entirely at random. There’s nothing to suggest that they’re picked based on the location of their residence or by what fire station is closest.”

 

It felt like Cas was reading Dean’s mind almost word for word about the new possible break in the case, which was both comforting and concerning to the omega, but he still nodded in agreement, momentarily forgetting they were talking on the phone and Cas couldn’t see the movement.

 

“Dean?” The detective sounded hesitant again, “Could I ask you one more thing?”

 

“Yeah, Cas, go ahead.”

 

“Why is there no Engine 24 or 27? You already have Engines 23, 25, 26, and 28.”

 

Jesus. “That’s your question? I don’t know, man. That’s just what they’re called. I wasn’t even born yet when those numbers were picked.”

 

“Numerically, your firetrucks make no sense.”

 

Dean’s cheeks were starting to hurt, he wasn’t sure why, while another grin spread over his face. “Yeah, Cas, I know.”

 

His chest felt light, sort of like - who gives a shit. He knew enough about the feeling to know he didn't want to think about it.

 

“Hey, Cas, pay attention here, this ending is real good.” Dean said, bringing the detective’s attention back to the movie so Cas would stop saying things that were making Dean feel more emotional than they had any right to. Wait - Shit. Did they just watch almost the entire movie? “Shit. What time is it?” the omega jumped up from his seat, sliding in his socks into the kitchen to read the clock on his microwave.

 

“I don’t know, I don’t usually lose track of time like this, but I enjoyed t-“

 

“Damn it! Hey, sorry Cas, I gotta be somewhere right now.” Dean felt kind of bad ending their conversation so suddenly; Castiel deserved more, considering he'd put up with Dean for almost two hours. Dude deserved a trophy or medal for that.

 

But he was supposed to be at Sam’s house to babysit in ten minutes, and he was going to make Sam and Jess late to their dinner reservations if he didn’t hurry.

 

“Oh,” Dean must’ve imagined the defeated sound of Cas’ voice, because the detective didn’t care about Dean’s life or Saturday night plans after one phone call. “Well, thank you for answering questions for the investigation. And thank you for forcing me to join you in watching _A New Hope_ , I found it quite enjoyable.”

 

“Anytime, Cas. Feel free to ask me questions again tomorrow.”

 

Dean froze. The boot he had been shoving his foot into fell to the floor.

 

Did he just ask the detective to call him back?

 

Oh God. He wasn’t thinking about anything other than his shoes before that came out! Sure, he didn’t _really_ want this to be the end of his acquaintanceship, or friendship, or whatever, with the weird detective. But Dean just _had_ to go and make the entire phone call awkward because his brain was too distracted by freakin’ boots to stop his mouth from assuming this was anything more than a one-time professional inquiry. Fuck. And Cas still hadn’t responded.

 

Shit. He could say it was just a slip of the tongue. You know, when you're hanging up on someone and say 'bye, I love you' accidentally, out of habit. At least Dean hadn't said  _that_. Offering his help again was only polite, right? Didn't mean anything more. 

 

“I-I believe…” Cas finally began. _I believe you’re a creeper and I have a mate, not like that matters to you at all Dean, but you’re just a dumb fireman and I was only being nice to you because it’s my job_ _please leave me alone._ “I believe I may have a few more questions that are of importance to s-solving the case.”

 

Dean dropped the boot he had just picked up again. Was Cas… trying to flirt?

 

Nah, couldn’t have been. He was just tactfully overlooking Dean’s fuckup. Again. Like he did earlier with the omega’s theory about the towels. Nothing else.

 

“Sure. Bye, Cas.”

 

“Goodbye, Dean.”

 

Dean ended the call. His heart was beating faster in his chest for absolutely no reason at all, and it was stupid.

 

He didn’t bother adding Cas’ phone number to his contact list. The gravely-voiced detective wasn’t going to call him back. Dean probably had a better shot at getting a date with that blue eyed alpha cop than he had at getting another call from Cas.

 

Which was fine. It didn’t bother him. The omega was more upset about running late and making their _work-related_ phone call end uncomfortably than he was about never talking to the detective again, Dean told himself. Cas was just a regular guy. Dean’s inner omega was only moping because he was going to be late to babysitting his nephew, and his omega child rearing instincts were upset by that. Right.

 

He grabbed his keys and left.

 

* * *

 

 

Dean was cleaning the next day, using his Sunday off to get some housework done before his 48 hour shift started tomorrow, when his ringtone went off with an unknown number flashing on the screen.

 

“This is Dean.” He said as a way of greeting, while he scrubbed another disinfectant wipe over his shower wall.

 

“Hello, Dean.” The gravelly voice caught Dean’s attention immediately. “I hope this isn’t too forward of me, but your information and theories yesterday are already a great help to the investigation, and I w-, uh, was wondering if you would be willing to consider acting as a liaison between the Police and Fire Departments for the foreseeable duration of this case?”

 

A fluttery sense of disappointment shifted around Dean’s stomach when Cas said the call was work-related again, which didn't make sense, because it wasn’t like he expected him to call about anything else.

 

The omega cleared his throat, making sure his voice came out steady. “A liaison? That sounds kinda important, you sure you don’t want someone else to help you out?”

 

“No, I called Captain Singer from your fire station yesterday and he said you were the most qualified to answer any questions for the police.” Castiel rushed his words stiffly, like he had rehearsed it for when the omega tried to be uncooperative. Glad to know it only took one phone call for this guy to realize Dean was a little shit.

 

“Well, I’m sure my theories weren’t _that_ good, I mean, they didn’t-"

 

“Oh, I assure you,” Cas’ voice returned to its usual rich, serious tone. “Your ideas are much more helpful and intriguing than my partner’s.”

 

Dean sensed there was a back story to that, but decided to let it go, instead allowing his inner omega preen a bit over the detective’s semi-compliment.

 

“I suppose being a liaison wouldn’t suck. Anything to catch the son of a bitch, right?” Dean joked, not finding much humor in it. If Cas thought Dean was their best bet for solving this, well, Sioux Falls was fucked, but Dean would do the best he could.

 

“Thank you for your assistance, Dean. Although to be fair, we don’t know if the arsonist is a son of a bitch. They may be female for all we know.”

 

“When I said ‘son of a bitch’, I just meant someone bad in general, Cas.” Dean said as he chuckled and tossed the disinfecting wipe into the trashcan, not in the mood to clean anymore, and headed to his couch. “Do you think it could be a female though? I’ve seen my fair share of crazy girls, but this seems a little violent.”

 

“Statistically, females commit the more violent crimes, especially homicides, because they tend to have a stronger emotional connection to their victim. So no, torturing an omega and tying them in a burning building wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibilities for a female. Assuming she was a psychopath.” Damn, when he put it that way... The detective took a deep breath, continuing. “However, we have found nothing, other than the incredibly violent nature of the cuts left on the omegas, indicating these were anything other than hate crimes committed on impulse, which suggests the arsonist is male.”

 

“Damn, Cas. What are they teaching you in that detective school over there?”

 

“There is no ‘detective school’ over here. Data simply suggests that men are more likely to kill strangers than women are. The manner of how each victim has been tied up also suggests the arsonist has a need to dominate, which is a typical alpha characteristic, for both females and males. Or possibly a male beta. But we haven’t ruled out any designation yet.”

 

For the first time, Dean wondered what Cas’ secondary gender was.

 

“Well, shit. So no guesses? You and your detective school classmates better start investigating then.” The omega teased while he turned his TV on out of habit for background noise. A small smile cracked over his face when he saw what was playing on the channel his TV turned on to. “Hey, Cas. Guess what’s on.”

 

“I suppose my toaster is on, as is my refrigerator.”

 

The omega felt his smile reach his eyes now, and he shook his head fondly. “Jesus, was that supposed to be a joke? No, Cas. Guess what’s on _TV. The Empire Strikes Back_ is on! Same channel as yesterday.”

 

“Is this another Star War?”

 

“It’s another Star _Wars_. Plural wars. And yes! It’s the second! Or fifth, depending on how you look at it.”

 

“Why would one get second and fifth place confused?” Cas sounded adorably confused, and Dean smirked.

 

“It’s complicated. But if anyone tells you that this is the fifth movie: they’re wrong.” The smile on the omega’s face kept growing, and he didn’t even try to tamp it down. “C’mon, it’s the sequel right after _A New Hope_. Turn on your TV. It started 30 minutes ago; I’ll fill you in on what you missed.”

 

“Why is the Abominable Snowman attacking him? Their clothes still don’t look weather-appropriate.”

 

Dean didn't think he had ever enjoyed a  _Star Wars_ TV marathon more.

 

* * *

 

 

It was the sixth day when Dean realized their phone calls were becoming a ‘thing’. It was weird, spending hours talking to someone he’d never met, never seen, never even knew existed until a few days ago. Each time, the detective would call first, and each time, at the end of the call Dean would push his luck and ask Cas to call again. It was ridiculous. The omega chalked it up to loneliness. Not that he was lonely; he had plenty of friends and family that loved him. _Technically_ , he was physically lonely, but not in a sex-crazed way like during his heats. He was just _alone_. And so was Cas, apparently.

 

It was the eighth day when Dean’s conscience stopped dreaming about the attractive alpha from the scene of the fire. It was a little bit of a shock - the guy had starred in a few of Dean’s jerk off fantasies - but the more he thought about it, the less surprised he was that his inner omega had moved on from the strong smelling alpha. Dean didn’t even know the guy’s name, for Christ’s sake.

 

It was the tenth day when Dean and Cas dropped the pretense that they only called to talk about the case, and spent the entire phone call on the cooking channel and trading recipes. There was a smile on Dean’s face when he fell asleep that night.

 

It was the sixteenth day when Dean realized he’d never stood a chance.

 

The day before was fine; Dean was on another 48 hour shift. He'd been elbows deep under the firetruck's hood when his phone started vibrating.  Sliding the phone out of his pocket, he saw the unknown number flash on the screen - still too stubborn to enter Cas’ name and number into his contact list.

 

Dean had ended up sitting on the small wooden step stool he’d used to peer over the forgotten engine behind him and talked the detective through changing the oil in his own car, and then willingly listened to Cas rant about someone he’d seen littering in the park.

 

Jo told Dean that he was smiling like an idiot. But she was the… idiot.

 

The next day was when it happened. Dean was still on shift, but he was getting restless. Cas always called in the afternoons, but it was already past 6PM.

 

Dean waited a couple more hours, biting his nails and snapping at anyone that gave him shit, before deciding to fuck it.

 

As it turned out, the detective had decided to work from home that day, and lost track of time. The omega’s body sagged with relief when Cas answered the phone, glad the detective hadn’t forgotten about him. That was Strike One against Dean's emotional well-being. He was so disoriented by the feeling that he let Cas choose what they would watch on TV together, the usual choice of background noise for their phone calls. Obviously, since it was Cas, they ended up on some nature documentary. Dean didn't even know the station got that channel.

 

It wasn’t something Dean would normally watch, but the omega was so unbelievably happy to finally hear the excited tremors of Cas’ deep voice that he couldn't complain about the choice of show. And that was the exact moment he knew he was fucked.

 

Dean Winchester didn’t watch documentaries about _insects_ for just anyone. Only Cas. Well, maybe Sam too. But definitely for Cas. Strike Two. 

 

The detective was talking over the show’s narrator, explaining to Dean how bees saw every color except for red, when Gordon Walker came into the day room. The alpha firefighter took one look at the bees buzzing around on the TV before shooting Dean a dirty glare.

 

“I don’t know why I’m surprised to see that you’re into all that flowery nature shit. Always thought that was a little too feminine for you, Winchester, but it looks like every omega is the same deep down.”

 

The omega felt like his insides had froze; he didn't care that Gordon was making fun of him for being an omega, but he was making fun of Cas' show and his bees and that shit wasn't going to fly. Three fucking Strikes - and Dean Winchester was without a doubt ready to pick a fight with an alpha he'd worked alongside for years for a detective he'd never even met.

 

Dean put his hand over the speaker of his cell phone so Cas wouldn’t hear him snap back at the other fireman. “Can it, Walker.” 

 

Turns out Cas heard him anyways, and he quickly replied to the detective on the phone, “No, sorry, one of my asshole crewmates just came into the room, it’s fine.”

 

“Who are you talking to? Is that an alpha? God, you omegas are all so _desperate_.” Gordon sneered the words at Dean on his way past the couch the omega was lounging on, continuing towards the refrigerator at the back of the room.

 

“What can I say, the phone sex hotline pays good money to omegas these days. If you keep being so nice to me, I might even give you the friends and family discount.” Dean winked at the alpha.

 

The only response Dean got was the smell of Gordon’s rage, making his scent even more sour than usual, before the refrigerator door slammed shut and Gordon stomped into the alpha bunkroom with his food.  

 

“What? No, Cas. I wasn’t talking to you. You’ll have to pay full price just like everybody else."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, not much happening in this chapter besides Dean being a dummy and not realizing who Cas is. To be honest, this'll probably (almost definitely) be the least exciting chapter for the rest of the story, but at least we got some ground work for the case and Cas and Dean out of the way! I promise there will be more Cas POV and *fun* things next chapter
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	3. The One Where Sam Forgets His Lunch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, to kinda make up for the last chapter being a bit of a tease, I added some smut to this chapter, just as an FYI.

Castiel was having what one might call ‘a bad day’.

 

To be fair, his terrible Thursday technically started on Wednesday afternoon, when Director Mills informed him that he’d been chosen to lead the current Training Academy recruits in their lesson on long-range sharp shooting. Normally, the alpha eagerly anticipated opportunities to mentor potential new police officers, and would have today, had it not involved waking up at 4AM to make the long drive to the practice range outside of town. If his only complaint was the early setting of his alarm clock, Cas' Thursday would have simply been ‘undesirable’, but the experience became more unpleasant when he arrived at the shooting range only to be turned away and informed instructors were required to wear their blue street uniforms in order to teach.

 

In the rush of returning to his apartment to retrieve his uniform, he forgot to pack a lunch for later, hit every red light, had to pull to the side of the road once to help a turtle cross the street, and arrived back at the shooting range an embarrassing 20 minutes late to his own class.

 

Based on how his morning went, Castiel was surprised none of his students hadn't accidentally shot themselves during class, but wasn't shocked when he got in his car to leave the shooting range and realized he hadn’t the foresight to grab a change of clothes to wear after Academy, meaning he was forced to endure suffocating in his stiff street blues for the rest of the workday.

 

His 'luck' continued downhill after that, when he got to the office and learned Gabriel and Kali’s anniversary was the upcoming weekend, and Gabriel had decided, for an unknown reason he refused to explain, that it was necessary to take all of Friday and Thursday afternoon off of work to prepare for it. When the alpha finally sat down at his desk after coming straight from Academy, Gabriel’s behavior was eccentric as usual, but combined with dangerous levels of horniness. And as Gabriel’s little brother, Cas spent his entire morning in an incredible state of discomfort every time he accidentally inhaled the aroused scents polluting the office air.

 

The beta refused to leave Kali’s personal office all morning, and Cas suffered through three hours-worth of Gabriel’s God awful pick-up lines, unwillingly overheard from his own desk positioned outside their Captain’s. He caught himself internally cringing more often than he cared to count.

 

At one point, Kali closed all the blinds to her office and the sound of moving furniture was easily heard through the walls. Castiel was too tired and too disturbed to even think about _thinking_ of what they were doing in there.  

 

When one of their coworkers managed to drag Gabriel back to his desk across the room to do work, he continued attempting to flirt by launching paper airplanes with messages into Kali's office. Three of them hit the side of Castiel’s head, and he glared, unamused, at each one as it fluttered onto the paperwork spread atop his desk. The alpha took out his monthly organizer and flipped through to today’s date, a year from now, and penciled  _take a sick day_ in the planner.

 

If he didn’t know better, Cas would hazard guessing that Gabriel was hitting him on purpose. Since he did know better, he knew for a fact Gabriel was intentionally aiming for him, so the beta could annoy his younger brother while simultaneously using it as an excuse to run across the office, pick up the crumpled paper plane, and hand-deliver it to Kali’s office, where he could resume flirting with her in person. Metaphorically hitting two birds with one stone, Gabriel would call it. Except Castiel seemed to be the only bird being hit in this analogy.

 

When the lunch finally hour arrived and Gabriel strolled out of the precinct with a fistful of confetti to start his mildly ( _very_ ) worrying amount of anniversary preparation, Cas let out a deep sigh of relief.

 

The calm lasted long enough for Castiel leisurely wander to Gabe’s desk to collect the beta’s expected afternoon workload, which Cas had agreed to complete for his older brother, and discover that Gabriel’s morning paperwork was filled out with drawings of daisies and butterflies instead of legitimate, professional information.

 

For Castiel, it meant he would now be spending his Thursday not only completing his own day’s worth of paperwork, but Gabriel’s entire day’s load too. Cas couldn’t even fault the apparent bad luck of this Thursday for that; he should have expected Gabriel's behavior after decades of being related to him.

 

The only thing stopping Castiel from slamming his head onto his desk in a dramatic, teenager-esque fit of frustration was knowing his payback would come in two weeks’ time when his rut hit, and Gabe would be the one having to deal with both their paperwork.

 

Almost everyone in the detective offices had already left for lunch; the handful of people still wandering were mostly only cutting through the detective offices to get to the Defense Attorneys’ offices down the hall, so Castiel released an audible groan at the large amount of work sitting on his desk. He was growing exhausted just looking at the piles upon piles of papers stacked there.

 

He could hear Kali shuffling papers in her Captain’s office behind him as she got ready to leave for a late lunch, and considered asking to join her. But there was no way he could go out to find a replacement lunch and still have enough time to finish all his and Gabriel’s paperwork before the end of the day. With a deep sigh, he resigned himself into settling for whatever unappetizing meal was being served in the cafeteria downstairs.

 

Clearly unenthused by the idea, he slumped deeper in his chair and stared at the far wall, contemplating the pros and cons of skipping lunch all together, until movement drew the alpha’s attention to the entrance of the detective offices.

 

The thin wooden door was being pushed open and-

 

Dean.

 

Before he could stop it, Cas’ inner alpha started soaring with hope that Dean was there for _him._ Which was illogical, of course, because Dean wouldn’t be here for Cas.

 

Because he was walking in the opposite direction.

 

The alpha had an excellent view of Dean’s side profile as he strode across the room, not in the direction of Cas’ desk, carrying a black bag and wearing a loose t-shirt and jeans that made him look impossibly more handsome than he had a month ago at the fire.

Cas’ alpha instincts trembled at the – however minimal – sign of rejection, and felt jealousy begin to claw at his stomach. He had learned enough from his gender studies classes in college to know that secondary genders’ pheromones could affect thought processes, and he knew that that was what he was currently experiencing, but he couldn’t help it. His alpha yearned for the sandy haired omega walking through the detective offices’ floor to turn around. He wanted to call out and say ' _hi'_ , but his hormones were apparently compensating for a lifetime of barely being affected by betas or omegas, and the feeling of rejection coursing through him was near paralyzing. He knew it was only a biological response, he wasn’t truly hurt by Dean happening to walk in a different direction or jealous he was obviously here for someone else - Cas knew this wasn’t actually Dean’s way of rejecting him, but he _couldn’t help it._

Castiel wasn’t special. Dean was loved; he talked about his life like he was constantly surrounded by family members, and road tripped to places Cas only dreamed of visiting. Dean had so many better options in life than a boring detective who liked gardening and books. He didn’t feel the same – couldn’t feel the same - as Cas did. The alpha knew he was the only one whose heart stuttered at that minuscule amount of human interaction their phone calls afforded him. He also knew that this was _wrong_ – his thoughts were being purely driven by his pheromones right now, and that Dean couldn’t feel so little towards Castiel.

 

He was just a detective. A detective that Dean agreed, somewhat reluctantly if Cas remembered correctly, to assist in a case, his pheromones so helpfully chose to remind him. That’s all he was. Detective Novak.

 

He wasn’t even the best Detective Novak in the precinct.

 

Cas felt like growling at the thoughts swirling through his head, but he remained immobile in his seat while he watched Dean. It felt like a lifetime of insecurities he’d experienced were drowning all his senses at once.

 

The fireman crossed the room towards the door that led to the DA’s hallway. It was too far away to scent the omega, and Cas instantly regretted that his desk wasn’t closer.

 

He hadn’t realized he’d straightened his back or craned his neck to better see Dean until the omega exited through the DAs’ door, and the alpha’s body slouched down in his chair, sagging as soon as the door shut. Dean hadn’t even noticed him.

The alpha sat up straighter in his desk chair again. Dean would have to come back through the detectives’ office in order to leave, right? Cas would get to see him again. He started shuffling papers around on his desk, determined to look busy for when Dean returned, and willed his pheromones to calm down before then.

 

After eight and a half minutes of pretending to alphabetize case documents, the omega finally came back through the DA’s door. The papers in Cas’ hands fluttered to the desk. He zoned in on the man leaving, cataloging the slight slope of Dean’s nose and distracting himself with the angles of his jaw.  Which was why the alpha was completely unprepared for Dean to turn and look at him.

 

Green eyes blinked slowly at him from across the room as Dean continued his walk towards the other door. 

 

Then, a corner of Dean’s lips twitched up, and Cas froze.

 

Did that qualify as a smile?

 

Was Dean Winchester _smiling_ at him? Was _Dean Winchester_ smiling at _him_?

 

Castiel wasn’t sure what was happening.

 

Too quickly, the firefighter’s mouth curved back downwards, wiping the smile away. The green eyes dropped next, along with Cas’ stomach, unlocking themselves from the alpha’s gaze to stare at the floor.

 

Castiel’s eyes still followed as Dean approached the door to leave, moving much faster than Castiel would have liked. There was a hot flash of - of _something_ \- inside Cas when the gorgeous green eyes flickered back up at him for a second before Dean opened the door of the detectives' offices and disappeared.

 

Air rushed into Castiel’s lungs, apparently he stopped breathing at some point, he hadn’t noticed. He slumped in his chair again, chest heaving like he had just run a half marathon.

 

A hand lifted to run its way through his hair, and Cas was concerned to see his entire arm was shaking.

 

A quiet snort made him spin his chair around, almost giving himself whiplash, and Cas saw Kali leaning against the door frame to her office. Her red lips were curved in a smirk, amusement noticeably mixed with her spicy alpha scent, and Cas didn't like how her demeanor implied she’d witnessed the entire interaction between Dean and Cas.

 

The male alpha cleared his throat to speak, but Kali cut him off.

 

“If you’re going to ask me if I noticed that whole little scene between you and that juicy omega, the answer is yes.” Her smirk was almost predatory now. “And if your next question is asking whether or not I’m going to tell Gabe: you’re too late, babe. Videoed the whole thing, already sending it to him.” She winked and waved the phone in her hands once before turning on her heels back into her office.

 

Cas stared numbly after the female alpha, suddenly remembering exactly why Kali and Gabriel were perfect mates for each other.

 

“Quit looking like a kicked puppy, Cassie! Go take your lunch break.” Kali yelled from her office.

 

He swiveled back around to the paperwork scattered over his desk, convinced that consuming food and keeping it down would be an implausible feat after _Dean smiled at him._

 

* * *

 

 

Holy hell, was he in junior high again? Did he just _smile_ at that alpha like some teenage girl because the guy was hot?

 

Dean finally stepped out of the building, the warmth from the sunlight hitting his skin made the blush across his cheeks burn even hotter.

 

He blamed all of it on Sam. All.Of. It. The younger brother had forgotten to bring his lunch to work and refused to get cafeteria food because ‘ _ew, GMOs Dean’._ Like an overgrown _child._

 

Jess was busy, which meant Sammy lunch duty was left to Dean for the day, and he had graciously blessed his brother by delivering rabbit food to his work. Unfortunately, Sam was too busy to talk for long, so Dean replaced all of the young alpha’s black pens with hot pink ink as payback and left.

 

He didn’t see the other alpha until he was on his way out.

 

The quickest way to get to Sam and all the other lawyers’ offices was by cutting through a large room full of boring looking desks. Dean was pretty sure they belonged to detectives, since the rest of the police department was downstairs and these desks looked like they were more important than the ones a floor below. Y’know, if it were possible for some desks to look more important than other desks.

Dean had been too concentrated on delivering Sam's food when he first passed through the detectives’ office room, but had held out the tiniest bit of hope that he'd see Cas' desk on the way back. Or just Cas, without a desk.

 

Most of the desks had been empty when he scanned for Cas’ while he walked towards the door to leave, but he'd found one other person.

 

And that's when he’s pretty sure his heart skipped a beat.

 

The incredibly attractive alpha that had smelled fan- _frickin’_ -tastic at the structure fire and wore the Batman shirt was sitting across the room. The ugly tan trench coat was even hanging over the back of his desk chair.

 

Dean had almost completely forgotten about the guy, but now… Now Dean couldn’t stop staring.

 

Today the alpha looked more stressed than he had before, which said a lot, considering it was three in the morning the last time Dean saw him. Dark hair stuck up all over the place, like hands had been running through it all day. And he was wearing a dark blue police uniform, which looked a little too tight around the man’s chest to follow regulation dress code.

 

Again, the blue eyes were what really got to Dean, just like they had at the fire. The navy coloring of the uniform made them stand out even more, and had his inner omega begging to head directly over to the man’s desk, maybe ask for a sexual favor or two. Dean had been determined to keep walking towards the exit though - stay casual - but the alpha’s eyes were burning into him and he was overexposed and Dean forgot to make sure Sam got a napkin with his lunch and the alpha’s eyes were _so blue_ and honestly, defenders of public safety should have cleaner desks, that much clutter was a fire hazard, and-and Dean may have gotten overwhelmed just looking at the dark haired detective.

 

So he acted on the only thought that wasn’t running around his mind at a warp-speed, and smiled.

 

He _smiled_.

 

At some _random_ alpha.

 

Dean was in the Impala now, still parked outside Sam’s work, and resting his forehead on the steering wheel.

 

It was official: Dean was, in fact, a little girl.

 

What the hell was wrong with him.

 

And the alpha didn’t smile back. Dean gave up his Man Card and the detective hadn’t even _blinked_. Just stared, eyes wide open like Dean was some sort of three headed monster about to eat him.

 

The omega wasn’t sure if he was going to die first from embarrassment or from hating himself.

 

With a sigh, he sat back up in his seat and started Baby. Dean dropped off Sam’s lunch before grabbing one for himself, and now only had a little over an hour to eat and get ready before he had to be at the station to begin a 36 hour shift.

 

The only thing that Dean was counting on to save his already-sucky day was Cas.

 

He had gotten so used to talking to the detective that whenever Cas didn’t call, Dean felt a little lost without the deep raspy voice coming out of his phone to relax him, like some kind of dorky angel on his shoulder or something. He'd already admitted to himself that he had feelings for the detective, which was pretty fucking weird in of itself because Dean's typical move was to deny feelings til his deathbed, but he felt calmer whenever they talked, or even when they didn't, and just sat on the phone together in silence. 

 

And now, talking to Cas was promising to be the only highlight of the omega’s day. Although, they had plans to meet on Saturday at the scene of the last fire, so Dean could walk him through the house remains and point out things for the case. Even though Dean felt a little nervous about finally meeting Cas face to face for the first time, he was pretty psyched to walk the detective through the burned house and teach him all about fire stuff. God knows that’s pretty much the only thing Dean can talk about without sounding like a dumbass. But he was excited for it, so he supposed that counted as a highlight of his day too - one day closer to seeing what Cas looked like. 

 

Dean still had a 36 hour shift to get through first though; a shift where he’d be the only omega on a crew full of all alphas. Again. Hurray. But before that, Dean had to deal with the lingering effects of the embarrassing situation that'd just happened with the dark haired alpha.

 

And by ‘lingering effects’, he meant boner.

 

Maybe Dean shouldn’t mention that to Castiel when he called. After all, the sweet smelling alpha was one of Cas’ coworkers. Blue eyes had been at the last fire, he was probably the closest detective in the area at the time or whatever, but Cas was the one investigating the entire case. Meaning that Cas had to have spoken to the alpha at some point about what he saw at the fire, so the two definitely knew each other.

 

How awkward would that be. _Hey Cas, you know your coworker, that really hot alpha that smells like pie? Well, he makes my panties want to drop. Let me know if he wants someone to carry his pups._

Dean wondered how his socially awkward detective would handle that conversation.

 

Dean wondered if Castiel was an alpha.

 

Dean wondered when he had started calling Cas 'his detective'. What the fuck. 

 

The omega tossed his keys onto his kitchen counter when he got home, stripping off his jackets and heading to take a quick shower.

 

Warm water started to spray, and he got to work scrubbing off his omega scent with a neutral scent body soap. Dean had been a firefighter long enough for his alpha and beta crewmates to know not to mess with him, but he never fancied spending a 36 hour shift smelling like a daisy fresh omega. Some of them could still be Grade A pervs, especially the alphas.

 

Another thing he didn’t fancy having around an alpha crew was this semi, which had sprung up as soon as he'd seen the messy haired alpha at Sam's office and didn't look like it'd be going down anytime soon. 

 

There was a full hour before he had to be at the station; Dean still had time to relieve some tension. Jerking off was probably his best bet if he didn’t want to spent the next 36 hours hiding a hard on in his uniform pants.

 

The omega wrapped a hand around himself, jacking himself up to full hardness, fist moving quickly to try to relieve the pressure.

 

A perfunctory jack off. That’s all this had to be. Sounded like a fun time. 

 

He didn’t need to think about blue eyes or dark sex hair to get harder, or broad tan shoulders and strong arms straining underneath a blue uniform and coming up to wrap themselves around Dean, holding him close to the warmth of another body with water sluicing between them, pressed against his own slick skin and-

 

No. His hand stilled an upward motion over his dick. He knew what his brain was trying to do, that bastard. 

 

He’d already made a fool out of himself once by smiling at the guy, but he did _not_ need to imagine that random ass alpha in the shower with him in order to masturbate, God dammit.

 

Anything but that alpha, anything but that alpha, and Dean would be fine.

 

Anything.

 

His hand slowly resumed stroking his cock, when a low moan tore through Dean’s imagination and he quickly matched the sound by letting out his own at the thought of feeling the warm vibrations of the noise in the crease between his shoulder and neck, the phantom breath tickling and making the tiny hairs on his body rise up as someone pressed against his back and nuzzled closer. His hole clenched, the omega pleased he could make someone sound so excited.

 

The only person Dean knew that could make a moan that deep or rough was Cas, and Dean didn’t even fucking care that his brain had now decided to fantasize someone he’d never seen before.

 

The omega squeezed his eyes shut. It’s not like he’d never thought of the detective like this before. Cas gave a shit about him. Not many people did. _Cas_ \- a bit of slick slid out of his hole and mixed with the shower water running between his legs.

 

He would take care of Dean, do everything he could for the omega. He seemed like that kind of guy. Hold the firefighter close, rub his hands up Dean's back and over his shoulders like Dean was worth something. The omega could almost feel the detective’s body heat in his head, hands rough with callouses moving over the omega’s skin and making their way back down to rest on the cheeks of Dean’s ass, giving a tight squeeze to make heat coil tighter in his balls.

 

Grabbing some of his body wash to use as lube, Dean began to jack himself faster, eyes shut tight to concentrate on the feeling of Cas’ head of dark, thick hair nuzzling his jaw and ear as the detective’s stubble scraped over the skin of Dean’s shoulder, teeth gently nipping at where his mating mark would go – where Dean wanted it to go.

 

Dean felt his torso tighten, and his wrist started adding a twist on every upstroke of his cock. Slick was dripping out of his hole at a constant rate by now. His entrance was fluttering, ready for that blue eyed alpha’s knot up his-

 

 _Stop_. Stop - no alpha detective. Just Cas.

 

God, just Cas.

 

Pressure continued to build, and Dean trailed two fingers, pretending they were Cas’, down below where his other hand was still moving up and down on his fully erect cock, letting out a small groan at the wetness coating the rim of his hole before slowly pushing his fingers in and _fuck,_ they started stroking the walls of his channel in circular motions.

 

Tension was rising; he knew he was close to coming. Just – almost-

 

He imagined Cas - whatever the hell he looked like - growling in Dean’s ear in that gravely - _so rough -_  voice of his.

 

Dean fell forward, the fingers buried in his ass falling out to brace himself against the shower wall with a forearm. The hand around his cock moved faster now, still twisting, thumbing the slit a little every other upstroke.

 

Another wave of slick left him as Cas’ lips began tracing themselves over Dean’s back, whispering praises, tongue flicking out and tasting Dean, and fuck, fuck, just one more twist had the omega letting out a loud grunt as it all left him, coming over his hand and stomach.

 

Dean took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, and he dazedly let the shower water rinse away the come and slick running down his legs.

 

Holy shit.

 

Dean was pretty sure he just orgasmed to Cas’ personality.

 

He doesn’t think his dick has ever been more confused.

 

He doesn’t think anybody’s dick has ever been more confused.

 

Talking to Cas on the phone later was guaranteed to be awkward. _Hey, your hot coworker made me hard, but don’t worry, I finished to you._ Jesus, Dean had issues.

He didn’t even want to know what finally finding out what Cas looked like would do to him.

 

“Yeah, that’d go over well.” Dean mumbled to himself in the empty shower stall.

 

With a sigh, he grabbed more of his neutral body wash and started rescrubbing.

 

* * *

 

 

“Whatcha doin’?”

 

Dean jumped at the voice, too concentrated on the engine in front of him to have noticed an approaching scent, and turned to see a red haired omega standing behind him with her hands on her hips.

 

“Well, somebody’s got to tune up this engine every now and again. Why’re you here?” Dean wiped some of the grease staining his hands off on a rag, before reaching out and ruffling Charlie’s hair.

 

“Bobby brought me over to do updates on the station’s security system,” she answered, face shifting to a frown as she patted down the flyaways Dean’s hands had just rucked up. “The alarms here are practically prehistoric, I’m surprised you haven’t been robbed yet. Although, I suppose anyone who tries to rob a fire station would probably be like, a mega-douchewad,” she said. “Want to throw a funeral in the back parking lot for all the old computers?”

 

“Hell yeah. Let’s do it.” Dean closed the hood of the firetruck and followed Charlie to the other side of the station’s garage bays as she continued chattering over her shoulder.  

 

“Dude, you haven’t been at The Roadhouse a whole lot over the last few weeks, what gives? Ellen’s start-“

 

“Oh, look.” A deep, dry voice interrupted. “Omegas are overrunning the station. I guess Sioux Falls is going to burn to the ground now because we’ll all be too busy painting our nails to answer any emergency calls.” Gordon sat at the picnic table they kept in the bays with some of their other crew members, glaring at the two omegas as they approached.

 

“Hey! Shut it, Walker!” Harry Spangler shouted as he shot out of his seat across from Gordon’s. “You don’t get to talk to the queen like that. Charlie is a national treasure, and needs to be _cherished_!”

 

“Dude, what the hell man?” Ed spoke up from his spot next to Harry. “Aren’t you still dating my sister?”

 

“Well, yeah. Your sister is, ah, she’s a very nice lady.” Harry mumbled, sliding back down into his seat, eyes downcast under the scrutiny of Ed’s glare.

 

Sensing possible drama, Dean eyed the two betas as they tensely returned their focus to their laptop, where they were creating some paranormal website. He watched Ed shoot dirty looks at Harry every time he stole a glance at Charlie, still standing beside Dean awkwardly.

 

The male omega paused, watching for a second longer before turning back to Gordon. “I’m actually more of a pedicure type of guy, but we can braid your hair if you want,” Dean finally shot back.

 

“You son of a bitch. Do you talk like that to every alpha, or am I just special?”

 

“Oh, trust me, Gordon,” Dean snarked, “you are _very_ -“

 

“Walker, we don’t pay you for your misogynistic crap. So shut up or get out.” Bobby cut in, casually passing behind the picnic table on his way to the coffee machine. “And Dean, don’t let Bradbury burn any more of my computers in some Norse funeral tradition; we aren’t the damn Vikings.” The old beta lifted his coffee mug in a salute to Charlie and shot Gordon a glare before walking out of the garage just as quickly as he’d entered.

 

“Yeah, what he said!” Charlie chimed in, squeaking quietly when Walker stood up with a huff and left the bays. “Why does Gordon Walker always smell like he just found out _Firefly_ was cancelled?” The redhead asked as soon as the door slammed shut behind him, then quickly stole where the alpha had been sitting.

 

“You cried for weeks when you found out, but I’m going to assume you’re trying to say that he smells angry.” Dean smirked at the other omega, but she just leveled him with an unimpressed look. “But he smells angry cause he’s a douche.”

 

Charlie’s mouth quirked up at that. “You got that right. Well, now that Bobby said we can’t burn things, what do you what to do?”

 

“How about you let me get back to work? You aren’t even supposed to be here. Go fix our security systems and leave, you hobbit.”

 

“First of all,” the redhead stuck up her middle finger, “I am an elf, not a hobbit. And second,” her index finger joined her first one in the air. “I finished updating everything ages ago. I’m just sticking around because I decided to walk here this morning and now it’s raining and I forgot an umbrella. Also Bobby said he was going to order pizza later, and I kinda want a slice of some free food.”

 

“You’ll only be getting a piece of my pizza in your wildest dreams, Bradbury.” Dean replied while pulling his cell phone out from his pocket.

 

No missed calls or texts from Cas. The detective usually called around this time of day - not that Dean was waiting for it or anything. Nope. He was only... curious.

 

“Speaking of finding a mate,” Dean looked up at Charlie’s voice to see her grinning at him with what he’d dubbed her ‘run for the hills- trouble’ face.

 

“Uh, we weren’t talking about finding-“

 

“Oh look! We’re talking about it now!” The redhead clapped her hands, excitement making her blueberry scent even sweeter.

 

“Okay, but-“ Dean tried to start again.

 

“Sooooo,” she drawled, “I heard that _somebody_ has been spending a lot of time talking to a certain detective-“

 

“How the hell do you know that?!”

 

“I stalk your phone records; it’s how I show my love and affection. Sometimes I also track your cell’s location for fun. But anyways! I traced the number calling you  _very_ often to one Detective Castiel James Novak’s employee information at the Police Department.” Charlie stared expectantly at Dean, as if those were totally normal things friends said to each other. Before he could think of responding, she jumped up in her seat again. “Oh my God, are you expecting a call from him now? Is that why you put your phone on the table? This is so cute! Why hasn’t he called yet? Trouble in paradise?”  

 

Dean tried to covertly slip his phone back into his pocket while the other omega talked at a mile a minute, because he was definitely  _not_ sitting around waiting for Cas to call, like some desperate house-omega. “No, I just… really like looking at my phone.”

 

Charlie gave him the look she used whenever she pretended to be reading his mind. He barely lasted a minute under the glare before cracking.

 

Dean sighed in defeat. “Yeah, I guess? Soon-ish. Maybe.”

 

“Yay! Are yo-“ the redhead started, before she was interrupted by the radio tones.

 

_17:26_

_Company 26, Rescue 30_

_Traffic Crash_

_Intersection of Glenbrook Rd. and Miller Ave., Sioux Falls_

_Blue Toyota pickup truck versus a red Volvo sedan, head-on collision_

_Caller is a passerby and says the driver of the pickup has not gotten out of their vehicle yet. Unconfirmed entrapment, unknown injuries_

Dean stood from the table and immediately started stepping in his thick firefighting pants and boots, fastening the suspenders as he listened to his crewmates’ footsteps in the stairwell and entering the garage.

 

“Good luck, bitches,” Charlie said weakly, still sitting at the picnic table as firemen passed by.

 

Dean threw on his coat and gave her a quick Vulcan salute, before heading to the driver side door, subconsciously patting his pockets to make sure he had his phone.

* * *

 

 

Dean didn’t pick up.

 

Dean didn’t pick up.

 

Cas rocked back in his desk chair and ran another hand through his hair.

 

Why didn’t Dean pick up?

 

The alpha stared at the paperwork still covering his entire desk, not really looking at it.

 

There had been a few times over the last month when one of them had been too busy to call or text. This wasn’t abnormal behavior. But what if Dean hadn’t answered on purpose. What if, after seeing Castiel today, the omega had decided he no longer wanted him?

 

Castiel always called when Dean asked.

 

It was alright, Cas told himself. It was only a phone call. Just because Dean didn’t answer the phone after he saw Cas at work didn’t mean the omega was done with him. His skin was itchy. Dean hadn’t truly rejected him, as his biology seemed determined to suggest.

 

Besides, Dean had offered to walk Cas through the scene of the last fire and give a firefighter’s perspective on the charred remains to help profile the arsonist and their patterns. That was in a couple days. If the omega had really found fault in Castiel’s appearance earlier today, Dean would have canceled their meeting at the house, Cas reasoned. They would see each other then, everything would be fine.

 

Cas could practically feel the alpha pheromones in his body making him overthink this.

 

He knew Dean was on shift right now anyway, and being a firefighter wasn’t an easy job. He was busy saving lives. Doing firefighter things. In that uniform. Sweaty, covered in soot.

 

Cas shook the image from his head, berating his overactive hormones, and started packing up his bag to go home.

 

Even after forgoing his trench coat and draping it over his arm instead of wearing it, Cas felt too warm in the office, and he strolled quickly past the empty desks of detectives already on their ways home.

 

A buzzing noise made his heart jump to his throat, and he pulled out his vibrating cell phone and answered it without looking at the screen.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Castiel. Do you answer all your phone calls sounding like an ill-mannered mud monkey?”

 

Not Dean. Definitely not Dean. Shit, this was not what Castiel needed right now.

 

“Michael. What do you want?”

 

“Oh, you know, the usual. Just checking in, making sure you haven’t accidentally starved to death or drowned in the bathtub.” Michael’s voice came out smooth, overly-confident, and Cas pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“Unfortunately for you, I am very much still alive. Although I’m assuming you could have figured that out from the phone call you had with Gabriel a few weeks ago.” Cas left the police building and started walking towards his apartment, noticing a few people along the sidewalks scenting the air and giving him odd looks.

 

“Oh come now, Castiel. It’s not like that, we worry about you, that’s all.”

 

“You mean that you and mother worry about me. Everybody else thinks I’m fine.” Castiel pulled uncomfortably at the collar of his shirt as he spoke. He could feel himself growing more physically uncomfortable with this phone call by the second.

 

Michael laughed, and it reminded Cas of when he used to ask his older brother for help with his homework in elementary school.

 

“You don’t honestly believe that, do you? You’re unstable, Castiel. You’re broken.”

 

Cas paused; he’d been told this before, but only managed to stumble out “I-“ in his defense before Michael cut him off.

 

“You’re an alpha without a mate. At your age, it’s dangerous for an alpha to be without an omega to chemically balance your stronger biology. Your brain function is deteriorating without a hole to claim.”

 

“For the last time Michael," Castiel snapped, "there is no scientific research suggesting mental or physical capabilities worsen the longer someone goes without a mate.” Cas could smell the anger leaking into his scent, and more passersby began giving him worried looks before he climbed the stairs into his apartment building.

 

“You still have no excuse not to have already mated an omega by now. All of our other siblings were mated by the age of 30; you’re almost 35. If you were a _real_ alpha, you would have claimed someone by now. Your last relationship was over six years ago, and you screwed it up.” Castiel could hear Michael taking a deep breath into the phone before continuing. “You constantly shine a beacon of bad light on our family, Castiel. The least you could have done for our family was find a respectable omega to mate by now.”

 

Castiel stared at the front door of his apartment, running his fingers over his keys for a moment before unlocking his apartment door. “… Gabriel wasn’t mated until he was 33 years old, and Kali-“

 

“Gabriel doesn’t count!” Castiel flinched as Michael snapped. “You should hold yourself to higher standards than a _beta_ , Castiel.” The sneer that was undoubtedly on Michaels’ face was practically audible over the phone. “Find a mate that will make the family look good, or else. I’m tired of you acting like an irresponsible _child_ and forcing me to have this conversation with you, Castiel. Find a mate soon, or mother and I will find one for you. Do I make myself clear? Honestly, it’s like you can’t do anything yourself. Are you even courting any omegas right now?”

 

The question made him pause the motion of hanging his coat up over the back of one of his kitchen chairs. Images of Dean flooded his brain, and his dick gave an interested twitch in his work slacks.

 

Cas tried to shake away the thoughts of the omega; he didn’t want to be having this type of reaction during a conversation with Michael, but the green eyed man wouldn’t leave his head.

 

“Castiel? Hello? Are you still there?”

 

Apparently Cas’ silence spent trying not to imagine Dean as his mate wasn’t as brief as he’d thought, and the alpha tried to ignore his slowly thickening cock when he answered Michael. “Yes. Sorry. I-uh, no. No, I’m not courting anyone. You’ll be the first to know once I do start,” no he wouldn’t “I’m sorry, Michael. I have to go, something came up.” Castiel was rather proud of that double entendre.

 

“Castiel, don’t you dare hang up on me! I swear, I’ll-”

 

The detective quickly ended the phone call, and stared angrily down at the hardening bulge in his slacks.

 

Why his dick suddenly decided to be so active, he had no idea. His dress shirt from work felt too itchy against his skin, so he unbuttoned it, not caring as Cas shucked it onto the floor and left it there to walk around his kitchen and find a quick dinner for himself.

 

If Dean had answered Cas’ phone call earlier, the omega would be describing the greasy atrocity he was making for dinner by now and using high pitched voices to imitate his younger brother’s opinion of the food, making the alpha smile at the fondness evident in Dean’s voice as he spoke of his brother - the complete opposite of Cas’ relationship with his eldest brother.

 

But not today, apparently. Cas was alone, making a sandwich with Michael’s words still ringing in his head as his only company.

 

Of course, his inner alpha just had to start thinking about how Dean might also like sandwiches, because Cas’ mind was apparently a perverse abomination that Thursday. How the omega’s pink lips would move as he chewed, which Cas thought was actually quite an unflattering image, but his dick seemed to be straining harder against the seam of his slacks. How Dean might like being sandwiched between Cas and his bed, the omega laid out against the bed sheets waiting for the alpha to crowd over him. The alpha enjoyed that image much more, and had to stop himself from pressing the heel of his hand against the growing bulge.

 

Cas was mildly alarmed, and slightly impressed, that his dick was able to turn something as ordinary as a sandwich into a sexual fantasy. Seeing Dean in his office earlier that day must have jump started Castiel’s libido, or-

 

Shit.

 

The alpha stripped off his undershirt - it was becoming too warm against his skin - and left it in a pile next to the dress shirt on the floor and ran to his bedroom, finding the calendar on his desk and flipping through it.

 

Cas groaned, then finally gave in and unzipped his pants, releasing another low groan at the painful loss of pressure against his now fully hard erection, still straining slightly in his loose boxers. He didn’t stop his right hand from reaching down and palming himself through the thin cotton.

 

The alpha was right, when he’d theorized seeing Dean again had caused an overly pheromonal response.

 

Cas was going into an early rut.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my first time writing anything remotely smutty, so let me know how you liked it :/
> 
> Also, for those of you anxious for Dean and Cas to finally meet, like I am, I PROMISE it'll happen next chapter. PINKY PROMISE
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. The One Where Dean Doesn't Know He's Having Phone Sex

Castiel never realized how rude ringtones were.

 

And loud. Very loud. The volume was beyond excessive.

 

The inventor of ringtones must have been a masochist, Cas decided, as he reached in the vague direction of where he thought he threw his cell phone the night before. Ruts made alphas’ senses all go into overdrive, hence the unnecessarily grating noise currently waking him up, and when he grabbed the phone he immediately had to shield his oversensitive eyes from the screen’s light. The alpha squinted so hard that the caller ID blurred illegibly with the burning light. Even the larger time numerals were difficult to make out properly, but any call he received while on rut leave had to be an important one, regardless of the time.

 

“Novak.” God, his voice sounded even more hoarse than usual. Constant groaning and the inability to get more than three hours of sleep at a time before feeling the need to desperately orgasm probably had something to do with it, he supposed. Who would have thought.

 

“Hey Cas,”

 

Castiel hardened in between his legs so quickly at the sound of Dean’s smooth voice coming through the speaker that he had to roll away and bite his pillow from the almost pain of it.

 

 _Deep breaths_ , _deep breaths. Calm down_. “Hello, Dean.” He mentally cheered himself for managing to keep from moaning the omega’s name.

 

Hell, Castiel deserved an entire parade for that, considering how Dean Winchester had been tormenting him for days. Images of half lidded green eyes turning black with desire flashed across Cas’ closed eyelids every time he tried to fall asleep; he’d never desired someone so… fiercely before. During all his previous ruts, he had always been more fixated on the idea of release than one single fantasy before. But now, it was crushing the alpha to not have Dean there with him.

 

“Listen, I know we haven’t talked much the last few days, and that’s okay and all, but today is Saturday.” Dean drawled, the deep timbre of his Midwestern accent resonating under Cas’ skin like a pleasant buzz and making the alpha squeeze his eyes shut.

 

“Yes. Saturday typically comes after Friday.” The alpha managed to grit out, feeling his heart increase its pounding against his chest as blood and hormones rushed through his veins and arteries.

 

He could feel himself quickly losing any semblance of control he had left, and grabbed the bed sheet to keep his free hand from wandering down to where a damp spot was already spreading over the front of his boxers.

 

“Right. So, I’m at the crime scene, and you’re not.”

 

Oh no. _Saturday_. Oh no, oh no. He was supposed to meet Dean at the house of the last fire to look for evidence on _Saturday_.

 

And now his- _not his_ \- the omega was waiting patiently for Cas to show up. The alpha felt like he was going to be physically ill at the thought of leaving the omega alone out in public, and Castiel’s lack of ability to protect Dean made his stomach twist painfully with uncontrolled protective instinct.

 

“Dean, I am so so sorry,” _You have no idea how sorry I am._ “Something came up,” the line was significantly less humorous than when Cas had said it to Michael a few days prior, “and I’m not going to- ah!” a flash of heat ran through Castiel’s entire body, straight to the base of his member, making the alpha curl in on himself. Fighting to keep his voice even, he bit back a whimper before speaking again. “And I’m not going to be able to join you at the scene today.”

 

Cas was positively humiliated – and ashamed – that he was essentially ‘standing Dean up’ at the burned house to masturbate. And he knew it was more than just rut pheromones making him feel that way; Castiel the man, not the hormone driven alpha, was genuinely upset he was missing their meeting, and intense worry of how his carelessness may affect their relationship further tied his stomach in knots. It would be Castiel’s own fault if Dean chose to end their professional relationship after this.

 

There was a pause from Dean on the other side of the line. “…You feelin’ okay there, buddy? You sound a little sick.”

 

The concern, the caring, in Dean’s voice made Castiel break. He could no longer stop his hand from slipping downward and slowly lowering the waistband of his boxers, and he watched his engorged cock spring upwards towards his stomach with contradictory feelings of eagerness and defeat. Disgust in needing to engage in masturbatory actions while speaking to Dean over the phone coiled with the desire deep in Cas’ stomach and made the alpha squirm uncomfortably. “Uh, correct.” He feared if he replied ‘yes’ that it would come out as a sexual grunt. “I’m sick. Very, very sick.” Gabriel used to say that Castiel was ‘sick of his dick’ whenever he complained about ruts during high school, so he supposed it couldn’t _technically_ be considered a lie that the alpha was sick, even though he was deliberately misleading Dean from the complete truth.

 

“A call telling me that before I drove all the way out here would have been nice, but sucks to hear that you’re sick. You want me to come over with some homemade soup or something?”

 

“No!” The alpha’s eyes flew open. Dean couldn’t come over and see him like this! Castiel feared for Dean’s safety - that he would have a very difficult time letting the omega walk away if he came to Cas’ apartment right now. “No, thank you. Though, I a-appreciate the offer.”

 

His hand resumed stroking his cock, gliding slowly so as to not create too many sensations that would have Castiel groaning into the phone’s speaker. The image of Dean standing outside his front door, however, had already implanted itself into his imagination and was making his heart beat triplicate. Having Dean’s bright smile radiate towards him, creating little lines around green eyes as the alpha held the door open for him. His hips started rocking in shallow movements. Maybe he would lift Dean up by the backs of his thighs and place him on the kitchen countertop, making it easier for the alpha to nestle in closer between Dean’s legs. Maybe he would gently lean their foreheads together and just breathe in the intoxicating scent of honey and leather that have consumed his mind and body for weeks. Pressure continued to build in Castiel, and he felt his knot start to inflate at the visions inside his head. The hand stroking himself gripped a little tighter around his girth. Maybe they could eat a sandwich together. But-

 

“Oh. Okay.” Something was off in Dean’s voice, and cut through all of Castiel’s fantasies. “I get it. Maybe another time then.”

 

Did the omega feel rejected by Castiel? No. No. Never. How could-

 

“Have a drink with me.”

 

 _Dammit_.

 

Cas turned into his pillow again, this time to stifle the frustrated groan as he cursed his desperate alpha pheromones. It was the combination, he decided. The regret over leaving Dean at the scene alone, the eagerness to reverse the sadness in his voice, and the yearning for the omega in his life were what led the proposal from slipping out of his mouth. A deadly combination, if you asked Cas.

 

Now Dean would figure out that Castiel’s feelings towards him were inappropriate for their professional relationship. It was pining, all the way to a subatomic level. How could he have been so careless as to let his pheromones dictate his speech and reveal himself?

 

“Drinks? You want to get a drink with me?” At least Dean’s voice sounded less lackluster than it had a minute ago, but Castiel was still uncertain.

 

“Uh, y-yes? I do.” The alpha squeezed his eyes tighter together. He slowly removed his hand from massaging the growing knot at the base of his cock and immediately grabbed another fistful of bedsheets in a useless attempt to regain control. He needed to focus, or this could ruin his partnership with Dean severely. “I understand if you don’t wish to. I’m sorry if my request made you uncomfor-“

 

“No! I mean, yeah, I can do drinks. Drinks sound good. I’d uh, like to see you.”

 

Quite possibly the largest smile Castiel had ever experienced stretched across his face, followed by the suppression of a childlike giggle threatening to escape. It was like a dream. Dean wanted to see him. Having staved off his release for so long, everything was becoming hazy with pheromones and Cas wasn’t sure if this was real or not.

 

“Cas, you still there?” The omega’s tentative voice grounded Castiel from the high, and he inhaled deep breaths to further calm himself.

 

“Yes, I’m still here.”

 

“Thought I lost you there for a second, buddy. Hey so are these drinks like, date-drinks?”

 

Shit, Dean didn’t want it to be a date. Did Cas want it to be a date? He shouldn’t ask stupid questions; of course Cas wanted it to be a date.

 

“We can discuss the case if you would like.” Castiel offered. Talking about the case was fine with him - anything that allowed him the chance to be in Dean’s presence would be more than welcomed. He could remain professional. But a date, God, _a date_ with Dean would have been much more preferred. He _wanted_ in ways he had never comprehended before when it came to Dean.

 

“Well, you know, case confidentiality and all that. It’d probably be best if we don’t discuss an open police investigation in the middle of a bar. Maybe we should stick to just getting drinks as, uh, _not_ -coworkers.”

 

“The Police Department has released details to news outlets, Dean. The case is hardly top secret.”

 

“Yeah, well. I still don’t think we should risk it.” Castiel was almost certain Dean was teasing now, and the thought of the omega being happy enough to poke fun made desire reheat in his stomach and his hips stuttered in their small thrusts against nothing.

 

“If that is what you wish for, then we shall not discuss the arsons in any context when we meet.”

 

“Damn straight that’s what I wish for. You got a bar in mind for where you want to go?”

 

“Harvelle’s Roadhouse?” Castiel had only been there a handful of times, but it was relatively close to his office, which is where he expected he’d be beforehand, regardless of the day, in order to catch up on all the work he was missing during this rut.

 

“The Roadhouse?” The omega echoed, and he sounded - surprised?

 

“Yes, I believe that’s a popular drinking establishment.”

 

Dean sounded like he chuckled. The noise made the skin around Cas’ eyes crinkle in appreciation. “Yeah, Cas. The Roadhouse works for me, I’ll call you later about it. I might have to hang up on you in a second; I’ve been hanging around this damned burned-down house for too long, some of the neighbors are starting to look at me funny.”

 

“Alright. Um, I am very… sick.” Castiel faked a cough for effect. Hopefully it would be enough to deceive Dean. “And it’d be best if you did not call me tomorrow, because I will probably still feel quite ill.”

 

“What? Yeah, sure. I’ll talk to you another day. See you later, Cas.”

 

“Goodbye, Dean.”

 

With a click, the call was over, and the alpha chucked his phone back to the floor. Both of Cas’ hands flew to wrap themselves around his cock, aching with the tension and arousal that had come from listening to the sound of Dean’s voice. One hand began massaging circles around the almost fully inflated knot at the base, while the other one wiped the precome already leaking and spread it over his cock, pretending it was Dean’s slick - _fuck,_ it _hurt_ how much he wanted it to actually be the omega’s slick - to ease the glide of his hand jerking himself up and down.

 

He was already so close to the edge because of the rut, it only took three strokes before the alpha felt himself topple over it with a drawn-out grunt. 

 

Far too exasperated with the physically demanding aspects of his rut, Castiel snatched a discarded t-shirt off the floor and wiped the white stripes off his hands and bare chest before tossing the t-shirt back off the bed. The alpha rolled onto his back, readjusted his boxers, and looked at his desk’s clock.

 

Four minutes ago he asked Dean out for drinks. A date. “Shit.” Castiel sighed. He was pretty sure his entire world changed four minutes ago, and he couldn’t do anything but lay on his bed and process how entirely gone he was on Dean Winchester.  

 

* * *

 

 

Dean’s thumb chased the condensation running down the beer bottle as he waited.

 

He was a little surprised last week when Cas chose to meet at the Roadhouse for drinks. The omega had basically grown up in the bar, but would admit it was one of the seedier joints in town, and was having trouble picturing the nerdy police detective hanging around the place. Dean wondered if he’d ever seen Cas at the Roadhouse before.

 

He slid the phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen - no missed calls or texts from Cas. The omega had wanted to get to the bar early to catch up with Ellen, Charlie, and Jo, but was starting to regret that decision now, seeing as Ellen was in the kitchen training a new chef, Charlie had the day off and wasn’t even there, and Jo was too busy tending the bar crowd on her own – leaving Dean with nothing but time to kill, sitting and worrying about finally meeting Cas. 

 

Speaking of Jo though, the blonde omega was walking closer to Dean's spot along the bar, and he called out to his (basically) little sister in a desperate attempt to stop thinking about the impending maybe-a-date date. “Hey, there pretty lady, what’s a guy gotta do to get another beer around here?” He threw in an over-exaggerated wink for extra effect.

 

Jo’s expression looked unimpressed from where she wiped an empty pint glass on the other side of the wooden bar, “No wonder you’re single, Winchester. I’ve met pet rocks with more charm than you.”

 

“Ah, you wound me, Joanna Beth, I can’t believe you’re cheating on me with your rock collection. Would it have helped my chances if I’d wolf-whistled at you?”

 

“Yeah, because girls and omegas just _love_ being whistled at like pieces of meat.” Jo huffed sarcastically before ducking under the bar to retrieve a second beer for him. The two omegas managed a quick conversation about their upcoming shifts together at the fire station before an older beta at the far side of the bar called Jo away for a refill.

 

Watching her retreating back, Dean slumped, left with nothing to do but pull the phone from of his pocket again and place it on the varnished surface of the bar.

 

No messages. The omega’s leg jumped anxiously on the barstool.

 

Most of the sketchier nighttime crowd had started to fill the Roadhouse by now, scents of sweat and cigarettes following them in. Dean was almost glad for their stench; it’d make it harder for Cas to smell how nervous Dean was.

 

If Cas ever showed up.

 

No, he would. He’d come, Dean tried reassuring himself. The detective wasn’t the type of person to blow someone off.

 

Unless he was already there and didn’t want to approach Dean. Shit, how was he supposed to know which guy Cas was if he’d never even seen the detective before? Did the detective know what Dean looked like? What if they were both there already, sitting alone and waiting for the other?

 

That’d hurt a hell of a lot less than outright rejection, Dean figured. He wondered if Cas would still want to be friends with him once the detective saw he was an omega.

 

Fuck, what if Cas was mated? Should that matter? Maybe he’d meant for this to be like a friends-date. Were those a thing?

 

He checked the clock on his phone for what felt like the five hundredth time, noting the detective was now 3 minutes late.

 

Maybe Cas wouldn’t show up after all. Or maybe, Dean should chill the fuck out and relax while he waited like a normal person, 3 minutes weren't the end of the world.

 

He hunched over his beer with a sigh, rubbing his face and wondering what the fuck he was doing with his life.

 

The loud buzz of his phone vibrating against the bar top had him jumping in his seat and snatching the phone up before he even acknowledged the noise.

 

**Text from Charlie “the Queen” Bradbury 9:04PM:**

_guess what bitch!!!! met an alpha @ LOTR LARP today and oh so heroically saved her from those team hobbit douches aaaaand now somebody has a hot date_

 

**Text from Charlie “the Queen” Bradbury 9:04PM:**

_her name’s Gilda and she’s a total badass and you’re gonna love her_

 

**Text from Charlie “the Queen” Bradbury 9:05PM:**

_but not as much as I love her. back off_

 

**Text from Charlie “the Queen” Bradbury 9:05PM:**

_AND WE HAVE A DATE AHHHHH!!!!!!!! BE HAPPY FOR ME_

Dean sagged a little in his seat when he saw the texts were from Charlie instead of Cas, but still gave a small smile at the redhead’s excitement. Good for her, she deserved a nerdy mate she could kick ass with. He was typing a response when a smooth voice interrupted behind him.

 

“You look bored, little omega. Care for some company?”

 

Dean looked over his shoulder and saw an alpha with a wide grin and yellow eyes staring at him. A taller man, a beta, with a long face and a short beard stood behind the alpha, watching Dean with an eerie smile.

 

“Thanks but no thanks, buddy. I’m kind of waiting for someone.”

 

“Doesn’t look like they’re showing up. Shame, a pretty omega like yourself shouldn’t be left alone in a place like this. Some of the people here can be downright _creepy_.” The alpha’s eyebrows waggled on the last word, as if that itself wasn't creepy as  _hell._

 

Dean had never seen someone with yellow eyes before, but as unnerving as they were, the predatory expression stretched across the beta’s face was what had Dean’s insides squirming and eyes darting around for an escape.

 

“Thanks for the warning guys. I’ll be sure to call Scooby Doo and the Mystery Gang if anyone gives me the heebie jeebies.” Dean said, suddenly grateful Jo was still on the other side of the bar and far, far away from the two strangers.

 

“Oh, c’mon, there’s no need to be so mean. We’re just trying to have a little fun, ‘s all.” The two men slid onto the barstools on either side of Dean, caging him in, and his body tensed as bile rose in his throat from the unpleasant scents engulfing him. “We’re celebrating, you see. We just got ourselves a new job.”

 

The alpha was doing all the talking, but Dean could detect the faint scent of arousal wafting from the beta, whose smile kept curving upwards like he was a starved man and Dean was a juicy piece of steak. Vaguely uncomfortable.

 

“We’re… independent contractors, you could say. And we’re just looking for a nice omega like yourself to celebrate with tonight.”

 

Hell fucking no, Dean was not ‘ _celebrating’_ with them. He’d watched enough _Law and Order: SUV_ to know what ‘ _celebrating’_ meant. ‘ _Celebrating’_ meant he was going to be dead and lying in a ditch behind an Arby’s by midnight, and there was no way in hell Dean was going to die behind a fast food restaurant that wasn’t even good.

 

“Well you two sure are some real handsome devils, but I don’t swing that way. I’m really not a threesome-kind of guy. Too many fluids; it’s nasty.” Dean tried sounding confident, and like he wasn’t torn between throwing up in their laps or punching in both these slimeballs’ faces.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw the beta scoot closer on his seat and his gaze drop to the omega’s neck. The yellow eyed alpha’s smile slipped, and he leaned forward in his seat in attempt to tower over Dean, “Now listen here, omega. Let’s stop playing games, shall we? We all know you want to come home with us, and an omega like you is a little too old to be getting any better offers tonight.”

 

“Hm. I'm flattered. I’m still going to have to pass on the invite though, guys. I don’t feel like leaving yet, I mean, have you tried these beer pretzels yet? They’re fantastic!” Dean countered, reaching for a bowl of complimentary pretzels Ellen always kept out on the bar, and shoved a handful of them in his mouth so that his cheeks puffed out in what Sam always called his 'repulsive chipmunk' face.

 

“I don’t think it’s going to work like that, omega. We are going to-”

 

“I strongly recommend you both vacate your seats. Now.” An angry voice came from behind Dean - but _holy shit_ the smell hit him like a brick wall, making the omega choke and sputter out a few bits of chewed pretzels from his mouth.

 

The dark haired alpha from the detectives’ office that looked like sex on a stick was squinting at the two strangers next to Dean, blue eyes looking like they were about to flash red and shoot lasers through the two guys - while the omega continued to cough on his pretzels.

 

“Oh, do you, _pup_?” the yellow eyed alpha scoffed, then stood up from his seat and glared up at the detective, who was a few inches taller and a thousand times more intimidating. “Forgive me if I don’t take too kindly to following recommendations from strangers.”

 

“He said he didn’t want to go with you.”

 

“And I suppose you think he’ll be going with you?” The yellow eyed man sneered.

 

Instead of attacking or growling at the other alpha in a show of dominance like Dean expected, the brunet detective simply pulled a pair of handcuffs out from his back pocket, and raised a sharp eyebrow.

 

“Woah there, kiddo! We were just fooling around! The omega is all yours.” The yellow eyed alpha immediately plastered on a fake smile, and the creepy beta stood up next to him, “And we were just leaving. See you around, omega.”

 

With one last look at Dean, the two disappeared back into the crowd of the bar.

 

The blue eyed alpha took one of the recently emptied seats next to Dean, eyebrows furrowed and lips pinched together as he watched the two men slink off with an expression that could freeze a volcano, as if daring them to come back.

 

“Thanks buddy. A man of few words, aren’t you?” Dean rasped out and tried not to stammer, throat still raw from swallowing the beer pretzels wrong. Because he wanted to be polite and thank the guy, but his new mysterious bar companion was _the blue eyed cop from the fire_. Fuck.

 

“It would appear so.” The dark haired man spoke, and then leaned forwards to look for Jo, like he was planning to order a drink and stay.

 

Which, shit. That would not be good. Code red. The reddest of reds. Dean didn’t want Cas to come in and see him sitting next to the detective’s gorgeous coworker. The hot stranger needed to leave _now_.  Or else by the time Cas got to the Roadhouse, he was going to find Dean reeking of arousal. Not that Dean was aroused. No. Of course not. He was too busy choking on pretzels to get turned on from that display of dominance scaring away the two creepy guys. ( _Keep telling yourself that, Winchester)._  Dean was _only_ interested in Cas now. It wasn’t his fault his inner omega was responding so strongly to the rainstorm-pie alpha, but he really, really did not want to Cas see him reacting to someone else like this.

 

“Listen, uh, guy,” Dean tried to start, having a hard time concentrating through the cloud of protective alpha scent around him, “I appreciate the help, but I can get rid of some creeps just fine by myself.” Because God dammit, he was a strong, independent omega that didn’t need no alpha. Even if they smelled and looked like heaven.  

 

“My apologies, Dean. But I found their scents grating.”

 

He knew Dean’s name? How the hell…

 

Oh.  _Oh._

 

Shit, now that Dean actually _listened,_ that gravely voice couldn’t possibly belong to anyone else.

 

“… Cas?”

 

“Yes, Dean?” The detective turned towards Dean, trapping the omega entirely in his too blue eyes.

 

Cas was… was the…

 

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

 

Cas was the smoking hot detective he saw at the fire scene and in the detective offices - and the smoking hot detective from the fire and detective offices was Cas.

 

You’ve got to be shitting him.

 

No. No, no no.

 

 _His Cas_ , who could make Dean smile just by saying ‘hello’ in that damned Batman voice, was also super hot- was  _the_ single hottest alpha Dean had ever  _seen_?

 

Dean felt like he was going to have a freaking brain aneurysm over this.

 

Dammit, he was so screwed. The nerdy detective he was completely head over heels for was the world’s most unfair definition of physical perfection, sitting on a crappy bar stool in a dirty trench coat right next to him. Jesus fuck. And Dean was just Dean; a headstrong omega nobody wanted, and who’s only talent was running into shit on fire. 

 

He eyed the alpha supermodel sitting next to and knew he was without a doubt, 300% fucked. Metaphorically, and hopefully literally, soon.

 

“Hm? What? Oh,” Dean gave a small cough to clear the awkwardness from his throat. “Nothing. It’s just great to finally meet you in person.” Shit, the first time he finally saw Cas, and Dean spent the first five minutes choking on pretzels. _Lovely first impression, way to fucking go, Winchester._

 

Cas’ tan skin wrinkled as his eyes squinted, and he turned his head in the same adorably confused tilt Dean had seen him do at the fire, where he apparently saw Cas for the first time, because _of course_ they had already met in person. 

 

At least now he felt a little less guilty about the one time he got off in the shower thinking of Cas’ body and personality at the same time, since now he knew they were the same person instead of two separate people. And for every time since then when he’d masturbated to thoughts of the hot detective and the dorky detective at the same time. Because they were the _same fucking person._ How had Dean not seen that coming? 

 

The alpha was still staring a Dean, gaze dropping once to the omega’s neck as he swallowed his nerves.

 

As much as Dean found himself internally preening from the detective’s attention, he didn’t plan on spending the whole night with Cas only staring at him. Partially because the omega knew he'd be perfectly happy watching Cas right back, and staring at his best friend's face and memorizing every feature would make him look like a complete dumbass, because, unlike Dean, Cas had apparently already known who the omega was and wasn't currently mind-blown by the person sitting next to him. Just embarrassing for Dean, honestly. 

 

He waved and motioned for Jo to get the detective a beer, and purposefully ignored the questioning look she shot him after she eyed the alpha sitting beside him, until she was called away to another customer.

 

“I apologize for being late, I came straight from work.” Cas spoke, before he gripped the neck of his beer bottle and drained half the beer in one pull.

 

And yeah, okay. Dean may have gotten more than a little turned on watching the alpha’s throat work to swallow the drink, but who gave a shit, this was _Cas_. His Cas – right in front of him. He was allowed to watch and just...process this.

 

The omega cleared his throat again to compose himself. “Jeez, you came from work? It’s almost 10 o’clock at night? Who the fuck works that late?” So what if that accidentally sounded more offensive than he’d meant it to in attempt to cover up his arousal; sue him.

 

“I don’t mind working late into the night.” The alpha spoke, looking down at the label of the beer bottle that his long, lean fingers were trying to peel off. “As you already know, I work as a detective in the Omega Hate Crime Division, and I see no reason why I shouldn’t work late when it means one less omega being kidnapped or sold to alphas’ pleasure like property. I have no mate, very few family members I associate with, and no hobbies that compare to the amount of ignorance omegas endure on a daily basis by those of more traditional mindsets. It’s only logical I dedicate what time I can to their cause.”

 

Damn. Dean felt like a major dick for teasing Cas now. “So, you’re one of those do-gooders trying to make the world a better place one step at a time, and thinks everybody is rainbows and butterflies on the inside?”

 

“God no.” The angry tone of Cas’ voice made Dean jump. “I’ve met many people that were born bad.” Cas must have noticed that Dean’s expression was still slightly taken aback from the outburst, because the alpha’s eyes softened and he looked down at the bottle he was rolling between his hands. “For example, this beer company, ‘Samuel Adams’.” He held up his beer bottle for both of them to inspect. “It was created and named after one of the United States’ founding fathers, Sam Adams. But the company thought Adams was too unattractive to represent them. The man featured on these beer bottles is actually a resemblance of a young Paul Revere. So, I believe that the company members who told its creator he wasn’t fit to be the face of his own brewery were incredibly shallow, and therefore, born without ‘rainbows and butterflies on the inside’ as you put it.”

 

Dean wasn’t sure how to respond, other than “Dude looks like Jack Black.”

 

The omega was rewarded with a chuckle from Castiel, which sounded a million times more _warm_ in person than it did over the phone, and lit up Dean’s insides like a Christmas tree.

 

“You told that entire story for my benefit, didn’t you.” He’d meant it to come out as a question, but he's pretty sure he already knew the detective’s answer.

 

Castiel looked Dean in the eyes again ( _dear God,_ those baby blues alone made this a thousand times better than their phone conversations) and a small, almost shy smile slowly quirked up one side of the alpha’s mouth. “Yes, I did. It had no relevance other than that you seemed upset by my outburst about my opinion of human nature. It seemed like a comical anecdote. I’ve found that I don’t-I don’t like it when you are upset.”

 

The sincerity of Cas’ words burned at Dean, and _that_ made him uncomfortable. Nobody should care about whether he was upset or not. It was Dean’s job to worry about things like that, and take care of it for other people. Not the other way around. But there Cas was, telling Dean that he cared, and the look in his eyes was so damn genuine that the omega almost had to turn away. “You can’t just say things like that, Cas.” He felt a blush creeping up the back of his neck and coloring his cheeks.

 

“I apologize if I made you uncomfortable again, Dean.”

 

“You didn’t, you’re just… different, I guess. I’m not-I don’t really know how to respond. And to think, this entire conversation started off with us talking about why you work late.” Dean gave a half-hearted chuckle at the end to lighten things up, because he was definitely not in the mood to get any more emotional than he already was.

 

“You are… different as well, Dean.”

 

Okay, Dean lied; he was going to get more emotional than he thought he would, but dammit, the sincerity in Cas’ voice was killing him. Damn omega pheromones.

 

Instead of melting into a puddle of swooning teenage girl, Dean was content to keep returning Cas’ gaze. He didn’t believe in that whole ‘eyes are the windows to the soul’ psychic crap, but staring at Cas was all the conversation he needed right then.

 

Jesus fuck, Dean was turning into a walking cliché.

 

The alpha was the first one to break the silence, his eyes still locked with Dean’s green ones. “Dean, if you don’t mind me asking, but how would you define this evening?”

 

“Uh, dark? I don’t know. I have no idea what you’re trying to ask me here, man.”

 

“On the phone, you asked if this was a friend-drink, or a uh,” the detective had to stop and clear his throat, and an almost scared? look began to shine from his eyes, “or if this was meant to be a date-drink evening. I know we haven’t been here for more than an hour, but what would you like to expect from the rest of the evening?”

 

Ah, Cas wanted to know if this was a date. Well, Dean wanted to know that too. “What do you want tonight to be?”

 

Let it never be said that Dean Winchester wasn’t good at anything; he clearly had an A+ in deflection tactics.

 

Cas’ look became less scared and he started looking at Dean with such a hopeful puppy dog expression that it left Dean wondering if Cas could give Sam’s puppy eyes a run for their money. “I would very much like for you to consider tonight a date, with romantic implications. However, I understand if my feelings are unrequited and you wish for our relationship to remain purely professional.”

 

“Well,” Dean had no idea how his voice managed to sound coy when his inner omega was practically rolling around and squealing from Cas’ admission, “what would you say if I were to tell you that I might feel the same way?”

 

Cas’ eyes widened, and the amazing smell rolling off of the alpha skyrocketed with what Dean thought was the scent of happiness. “Then I would apologize for not arriving in a timelier manner, and for not holding open the door or your chair out for you upon our arrival. I’ve been told those are customary actions for a potential romantic partner on a first date.” The detective’s face was still serious, but the smile in his voice was evident as he spoke, playing along with Dean.

 

Dean frowned though. “Who says you get to be the man in this relationship just because you’re an alpha and I’m an omega? What if I want to open doors and hold out chairs for you?”

 

“Then I would enjoy that very much.” Cas said, and his responding smile reached his eyes and showed his gums in a way that would be listed under the dictionary definition of ‘joy’.

 

“Alright then. Glad we got that settled.” The omega huffed. He hadn’t expected an alpha to have agreed to give up all claims to his masculinity that fast, but then again, this was Cas, after all.

 

The detective looked at Dean for a second longer, before grabbing his almost empty beer and Dean’s still practically full one and walking towards the door of the Roadhouse.

 

“Cas? Where are you going?” He called out, because what the fuck? The dude was walking out in the middle of one of the most emotional conversations Dean had probably ever had,  _and_ stole his beer.

 

“You said you wanted to open the door for me, Dean.” Was the only response he got, the deep roughness of Cas’ voice easy for Dean to hear over the noise from the rest of the bar.

 

Dean hopped out of his seat, the smirk sliding across his face so wide it hurt his cheeks, anxious to see what Cas was planning.

 

He followed Cas outside, where the alpha stood next to the front door and looked so fucking hot in the dim street lighting, casually taking another long drink from what was definitely the omega’s beer bottle. Dean had to clench his ass cheeks together to stop slick from leaking out at the sight.

 

“Seriously, Cas?”

 

“I’m always serious.”

 

“Okie dokie then,” Dean held open the door to the Roadhouse, dramatically gesturing and bowing as Cas walked back into the bar, the alpha’s gummy smile glowing in the darkness and making Dean’s chest tingle.

 

When they weaved through the crowd and got back to their seats at the bar, Dean made another show of scooting Cas’ bar stool back a couple of inches and watched the alpha take another pull from Dean’s beer as he straddled the seat and put their drinks back on the countertop.

 

“Does this mean that our date has officially begun?” Cas, the bastard, asked while still grinning.

 

“Yeah, and the romantic comedy about our lives is going to hit theaters in November.” Dean said.

 

“Since you are now wearing the metaphorical pants in this relationship: my favorite flowers are blue Forget-Me-Nots for when you decide to buy me flowers in the future, as is custom.”

 

“You little shit. What if I want flowers?” Dean snarked.

 

“Then I’ll buy you some, Dean.” Cas spoke as he stole another sip from the omega’s beer. “I want any potential relationship we may enter to be a completely equal partnership. It only seems fair that we both reserve the right to purchase flowers for each other, regardless of the more masculine stereotypes of my designation or the more feminine ones of yours.”

 

God, who talked like that? Not that Dean was upset that Cas wanted equality between them or anything. “Well… Good.” The omega muttered lamely.

 

“Dean, what are your favorite flowers?”

 

“Uh.” He had no idea. "The green ones are pretty awesome.”

 

“Are you referring to the stems?” Cas was full on smirking as he asked, and Dean wasn’t about to have that. 

 

“Since our date just started, you’re going to have to pick another fight with an alpha for my honor. The one earlier with that yellow eyed creep and the beta doesn’t count anymore.”

 

And that wiped the grin right off of Cas’ face. Score one for Dean. “I would prefer it if nobody approached you with intentions that would warrant me physically defending you, Dean.”

 

Dean leaned a little closer to the detective. “That’s too bad, ‘cause it was pretty hot.”  

 

Cas blushed beautifully, staring at the omega like he was trying to figure out a calculus problem on Dean’s face for a full minute, until his phone began ringing.

 

It took a few seconds for Cas to dig through all his coat pockets to find his cell phone, but when he did, Dean got to see him answer with “Novak.” - Which completed all the fantasies Dean had formed in his head since first hearing it from the other end of the line.

 

“What? Slow down. What-“ Cas’ eyebrows knitted together, and worry began to leak out of his scent. “Right now?” He shot Dean a hurried glance that immediately set Dean on edge. “When did it - okay. I understand - yes. Yes, I’ll - okay.” Concern was coming out of Castiel in waves now, and the omega began pulling out his wallet to leave . “Alright. Goodbye Ga - yes I know.”

 

Cas ended the call and stared at the phone in his hands for a moment longer, before raising his head to look at Dean with an unreadable expression.

 

“I have to go.”    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! Chapter four!! 
> 
> First off, and most importantly: I am sincerely sorry if you like Arby's. I respect your opinion, but I personally do not, and hope nobody got offended that Dean also does not enjoy Arby's or wish to die there. If you don't know what Arby's is, it's kinda like a U.S. southern fast food chain that specializes in sandwiches with a shit ton of meat.
> 
> Second: sorry about that random blurb about Paul Revere and Sam Adams and beer. It's true, by the way, but totally random and trust me when I say this won't be one of those chick flicks where they tell a story in the beginning and then the whole movie ends up magically following the exact same plotline and themes of it. I'm not sure how that would even work here
> 
> Also the cliffhanger.... I suppose I should apologize for that.... in my defense, the chapter was getting too long, and that's just where it made the most sense to end it. But on the bright side, it means I already have half of the next chapter written! And if anyone has been paying attention to the chapter titles at all, the chapter 5 will be called The One Where Michael is a Dick, which sounds so exciting, I know. 
> 
> Yep, those are the only things I'm apologizing for in this chapter...
> 
> As always, thank you all so much for reading and for all the kudos and comments you've left!! They mean the world to me!


	5. The One Where Michael is a Dick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !! Trigger Warning !!
> 
> Brief mentions of involuntary drug use and date rape drugs.  
> Nothing date-rape-y happens, but resulting memory loss is discussed.

Dean’s eyebrows arched high, creasing his forehead as he stared at Cas, before opening his mouth to speak, closing it, then opening it again.

 

“Your sister is in labor? Now?”

 

“Yes.” Cas confirmed. “That was my sister’s mate. He’s slightly anxious and requested my presence immediately.”

 

That was a lie. Anna’s mate Gadreel was having nothing short of a mental breakdown. Normally, Cas and Gabriel found it amusing whenever Gadreel broke his stoic façade to overreact to anything involving their only sister, but the tone of Gadreel’s voice over the phone was so wrought with terror that Cas initially assumed Anna had died.

 

“Oh. Gotcha. Well, congrats.” Dean said, using that slightly-off tone Castiel was beginning to hate.

 

“Thank you, Dean.” The alpha looked down the cell phone still clasped in his hands. He wasn’t sure if what he wanted to ask next would fix the _something_ in Dean’s voice, or if he should even ask it of the omega at all. “I find walking to work enjoyable.” Cas settled on saying, which, admittedly, was not the most coherent sentence he could have composed at that moment. His eyes were still fixated on his phone, but he was able to make out the puzzled look that crossed Dean’s face.

 

“… That’s real environmentally friendly of you, Cas.”

 

“Thank you. Unfortunately, it also leaves me without transportation from this bar.”

 

“Oh. I can get Ellen to call you a cab if you want.” Dean sat up in his seat and craned his neck, presumably scanning the bar for whomever Ellen was, but Castiel’s sight was drawn to the stretched expanse of neck the omega’s position exposed, and could do nothing but blink at it before finding his voice.

 

“I’d rather not inconvenience her.”

 

“Nah, man. She’ll be cool with it. We’ll grab you a cab over to the hospital in no time.” Dean said.

 

“I’d rather not.” Cas repeated, looking up at Dean through his eyelashes trying to convey his point, but was apparently doing so unsuccessfully.

 

“There’s nothing wrong with taking a taxi, Cas. Sure, they’re covered in germs but-“

 

“Dean, would you like to accompany me to the hospital?”

 

The omega froze his visual search to gape at Cas with wide eyes. “You want _me_ to drive you to the hospital?”

 

“Yes.” The alpha spoke. “And stay there with me while we wait, if you’re comfortable doing so.” As he understood, going to watch the birth of your niece or nephew was not a popular first date destination, but a cold feeling of guilt was already settling in his stomach at the prospect of cutting their evening short and parting from Dean.

 

“Won’t your family be there?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Castiel felt like a nervous wreck over asking something so intimate of Dean – he knew meeting someone else’s family so soon was considered incredibly forward, but he knew how he felt about the omega, and there was no time like the present to introduce Dean to Gabriel and Anna. A wash of relief soothed Cas’ anxiousness when a pink blush made the freckles stand out on firefighter’s face.

 

“Uh, ye-sure. Yeah, that’s not a problem. Meeting your family would be cool.” The omega was out of his seat in an instant, patting down the pockets of his leather jacket and dropping a twenty on the bar for their drinks. “I’ve been here for two hours and I’ve only had like, one beer. You pretty much drank my second one, so I’m good to drive us. No problem.”

 

The alpha got the feeling Dean was rambling out loud more for his own benefit than Cas’, but still replied, trying to keep the absolute adoration for the flustered man out of his voice. “If you’re sure.”

 

His voice seemed to snap Dean out of his thoughts, and fuzzy tingles spread from Castiel’s chest to his fingertips when the omega turned to give Cas a blinding smile. “ ‘Course I am. Let’s go, we’ve got a puppy to birth.”

 

“I’m fairly certain there are nurses to do that for us, Dean.” He called after the omega already weaving their way out the bar.

 

* * *

 

 

“Alright, so this is your omega sister Anna’s, right?” Dean asked again when they arrived in the hospital parking lot.

 

“Correct. Anna, and her alpha mate, Gadreel.” Cas clarified absentmindedly, concentrated on closing the passenger door of the Impala as gently as possible before following after Dean’s long strides towards the automatic doors at the entrance of the Emergency Department.

 

Inside, the omega continued straight to a nearby nurses’ station, asking for a ‘charge nurse’ to tell them which room in the ER Anna had been assigned to, but turned around and motioned to Cas after only a brief exchange.

 

“They took her to the OB floor. C’mon, let’s go find an elevator.” Dean said, leading the alpha deeper into the building.

 

“Thank you from coming, Dean. It means a lot.” Cas spoke up once they reached the privacy of the elevator lobby, leaving the omega’s side to press the call button before quickly returning to his spot beside Dean.

 

“Yeah?” The firefighter asked, and the alpha turned to regard his companion’s expression.

 

An elevator arrived, and the duo entered, pressing the button for the _obstetric floor_ and settling against the back wall with their shoulders touching.

 

“Very much. I’m aware this is the first time we’ve ever spoken in person,” Cas took a deep breath to steady himself before continuing, “but our conversations over the phone for the past month have meant a great deal to me.”

 

Dean’s eyes softened as he stared back into Cas’ blue. “Ditto.”

 

“I’m glad.” The alpha took another calming inhale. “And, um, I’m sorry if my forwardness makes you uncomfortable, but I would – if you were interested, of course – the idea of you and I mati-“

 

The elevator doors dinged opened, revealing the OB floor and the sound of crying puppies.

 

Dean stepped out of the elevator first. “C’mon. What were you going to say, Cas?” Nurses in scrubs hurried past the two men as they walked further into the OB floor. “Cas?”

 

“It was nothing.” He said quietly, uncomfortable with his intended topic of conversation now that they were surrounded by strangers and (even more daunting) potentially his family.

 

Each corridor they passed had its own private waiting area, and when they approached the one nearest Anna’s room, Cas let out an internal sigh of relief when he saw Kali was the only occupant. If God loved Castiel at all, Gabriel and Kali would be the only members of their family to show up tonight.

 

“Took you long enough to get here, Castiel.” The female alpha stood from her seat and hugged him in greeting, then released her hold to smirk at Dean. “I’m Kali. And you are?”

 

“Dean Winchester.” The green eyed man extended his arm and met one of hers for a handshake.

 

“I’ve seen you around the detective offices before; it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She winked at Cas as she spoke, and a blush crept up the back of his neck remembering the embarrassing video she’d taped of him drooling over Dean the week before. “Gabriel, my mate, is down the hall getting coffee, he’ll be _very_ excited to see you here.” Kali gave a sly smile and sat down again with a magazine.

 

“Any word from Michael, Lucifer, or our mother?” Cas asked, barely daring to hope they’d remain absent.

 

Dean gave him a look, presumably because Castiel had (purposefully) never mentioned any other family besides Gabe and Anna. The alpha pointedly ignored the questioning gaze.

 

“Nope. Gadreel probably called them all though.” Kali answered, not looking up from the shiny pages flipping on her lap.

 

“Cassie! You made it! Oooh who are you?” Gabriel, right on cue, yelled from down the hall, carrying a cup of coffee in both of his hands.

 

“This is Dean Winchester. He’s the firefighter with Company 26 that’s been assisting with the arsonist case.” Castiel said, immediately chastising himself for assuming the role of an overbearing alpha and introducing the omega without letting Dean speak, right after they’d had the discussion on treating each other as equals at the Roadhouse.

 

“Dean Winchester, eh? Is this the... from the…?” Gabriel looked towards Kali, returning her smirk and small nod with his own wide grin, stretching across his whole face, as he set down both coffees and enveloped Dean in a tight hug. “It’s an _honor_ to meet you. Little Cassie’s been sexually frustrated over you for _weeks.”_

 

Castiel entertained the idea that the cosmetic industry would cease to sell blush products if everybody had Gabriel for a brother, as he felt the burn of blood rush to his cheeks in embarrassment again. Dean hesitantly patted Gabriel’s back before pulling away, also sporting a reddening face. “You call it ‘Little Cassie’, huh?”

 

Thank goodness for small miracles; Gabriel only snorted in response before switching the subject from Castiel’s privates. “Seriously though, thanks for all the work you’ve been doing to help us with the case,” he said as he took the chair next to Kali. “It’s impressive work, kid.”

 

“Thanks, man.” Dean replied with a smile, “You know, if you guys wanted, I could-”

 

“The owner of this hospital should be ashamed; this establishment is positively filthy.”

 

Oh God, no. Everybody but Dean stiffened at the stern feminine voice coming from the hallway.

 

Castiel mentally cursed, his heart sinking the closer the approaching scents of three familial alphas came.

 

“Ah, there’s nothing quite like new life being brought into this world to unite us as a family to celebrate and criticize hospital health codes together, isn’t that right mother?” A smooth voice said.

 

Cas turned to see Michael stride into the waiting room wearing an immaculate suit, and without looking up from his business phone to acknowledge any of his family members. Their mother, Naomi, was right behind him, wearing her customary pristine gray pantsuit and perpetually judgmental glare. Lucifer, who had just spoken, paused outside the waiting room to give a passing nurse a once over before continuing to stroll in casually with his hands in his pockets.

 

“Who brought an omega?” Naomi asked the room, without even looking at Dean.

 

Cas bristled; his alpha itching to tell his mother that she should show Dean more respect. The sweet natural scent of the omega betrayed Dean’s surprise, and Cas looked at the other man, noting the taken aback posture before it was quickly replaced with a dazzling smile that momentarily soothed the anger rising in the young alpha.

 

“Dean Winchester, ma’am. I’m a work friend of Castiel. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Dean said, ‘taking the high road’ as they say, and holding his hand out to Naomi.

 

Their mother’s hands remained at her sides. “Charmed, I’m sure.”

 

“Are you serious, Castiel.” Michael’s drawl sounded bored, despite the considering look he was tracing up and down Dean’s body, making possessiveness flare in Cas’ chest. “You told me last Thursday you didn’t have any potential mates. And now you turn up with some trashy omega you found on a street corner?”

 

Unbelievable. His mother and eldest brothers hadn’t been in the hospital for five minutes, and they were already behaving horrifically towards Dean.

 

“Dean is not ‘some omega from a street corner’.” Cas stood up and growled, restraining himself from saying more for fear of turning violent.

 

“I wouldn’t believe everything that omega’s told you, Castiel. He’s certainly pretty enough to be a prostitute. Dirty enough, too.” Naomi chimed in.

 

Dean looked at his clothes, smoothing them down with his hands with an indignant “Listen, lady, I’ve got-“

 

“Really, Castiel.” Michael chided, cutting through the omega’s words and making Cas bite back another growl. “When I told you last week to find a mate, I never expected you to be childish enough to grab the nearest omega and pretend he’s going to be your mate just so you can get out of me choosing a mate for you! I mean seriously, how much are you paying him to be here?”

 

“He is not. A. Prostitute.” Cas snapped and took a step closer to his eldest brother. “He is my friend and we were on a _date,_ not-“

 

“Alright, alright, let’s all calm down before this breaks out in a cage fight.” Lucifer said, pushing gently at Castiel’s chest to bump the detective back into the plastic chair beside Dean’s.

 

Naomi responded with a huff, and Michael shot Cas a final glare before returning his focus to his cell phone.

 

“Welcome, to the family, Dean-o.” Came Gabriel’s quiet murmur, followed by Dean’s snort.

 

Castiel leaned on his armrest towards Dean, his inner alpha instincts seeking the scent comfort of its chosen omega, inhaling leather and honey to calm himself down. He glanced out the corner of his eyes to see if Dean was offended by his nearness, and saw grassy eyes already on him and shining with a shy smile twitching his lips.

 

A hacking cough from Gabriel didn’t pull Castiel’s eyes away from Dean’s, although he was aware of the tense silence suffocating the room while he wondered at the specks of gold he was discovering in the omega’s irises.

 

However, it didn’t take much longer before Michael’s groaning finally drew the youngest alpha’s attention away. “Jesus. I thought omegas are supposed to give birth quickly. What the hell is taking Anna so long?”

 

“Maybe something bad happened.” Kali offered, and Castiel and Gabriel both grimaced at the thought of Anna enduring birthing complications.

 

“Don’t be absurd.” Michael replied lightly, rolling his eyes. “Omegas are made to give birth. Anna is fine.”

 

“Michael is right. It has to be late because of that no-good mate of hers.” Naomi jumped in.

 

“Yes, because it’s definitely Gadreel’s fault the pup isn’t coming out quickly.” Lucifer drawled sarcastically. “I bet $300 he got so terrified that he fainted, and is just lying in a corner in there.”

 

“That’s what she gets; I told her to mate with that one alpha doctor, he would have at least stayed conscious during the birth of his firstborn. But _no_ , Anna just had to go and mate with some middle-class security guard. The pup is probably taking its time coming out, already as lazy as its father.”

 

“Gadreel isn’t a security guard, mother. He works for the FBI.” Castiel corrected for the umpteenth time since Anna's mating, pinching the bridge of his nose.

 

Naomi scoffed, and the uncomfortable silence resumed.

 

Until said FBI agent ran out of one of the rooms, coming to a skidding halt, with his brown hair stuck to his forehead with sweat and the widest smile Cas had ever seen on Gadreel’s face.

 

“Boys. We have twin boys.” He panted, trying to catch his breath.

 

Gabriel was up in an instant, jumping up and clapping Gadreel in a tight hug.

 

“Congratulations! Are they allowed to meet their favorite uncle now?” 

 

“Of course, the nurses said they’re both healthy. They’re in there with Anna.” Gadreel replied, and Gabriel skipped past him and into the room, followed leisurely by Kali.

 

Naomi and Michael immediately stalked past and entered the room without offering the new father any congratulations. Lucifer was next to stand, murmuring a low ‘kudos on knocking up my sister’ before strolling after them.

 

“Who are you?” Gadreel asked, nonplussed by his relatives’ cold reaction.

 

“Dean. Dean Winchester. Wow, twin boys, that’s awesome, congrats man!”

 

“Thank you very much. It means a lot that you’ve come. I’m glad Castiel has finally found someone.” Gadreel spoke, pointedly eyeing the small distance between Cas’ and Dean’s bodies.

 

The detective smiled at his brother-in-law, then stood to hug the other alpha, feeling his own excitement grow at the thought of his sister having twin pups.

 

The two alphas had turned in unison towards Anna’s hospital room, when Gadreel twisted back to address Dean again.

 

“Are you not coming in?”

 

“What? Oh, no. This seems like more of a family thing, y'know. And I’m not really a part of that.” Dean said, rubbing the back of his neck and making no move to leave the waiting area.

 

“Nonsense, brother. I would like for you to join us. Another omega’s presence might help soothe Anna and the pups.” Gadreel said.

 

Castiel could see Dean’s resolve crumbling as the omega shifted his weight from side to side. “If it’s supposed to help her and the pups,” he mumbled, suddenly shy. “I guess I can hang out for a bit.”

 

The alphas waited for Dean to follow, and Gadreel led them into the hospital room.

 

He noted Anna, layered with the sweat of exertion in a manner that some would call ‘glowing’ and beaming at her mate’s return to her side, but Cas’ immediate attention was captured on the two bundles of blankets resting quietly in her arms.  

 

“Who are you?” Anna’s voice was a slightly rougher than usually, but not unkind. Cas looked up from the pups to see her staring at the other omega.

 

“Uh, hi. Sorry, I’m Dean.” He gave an awkward little wave from where he was standing behind Castiel. “I’m a – uh, friend of Cas’.”

 

Anna gave a thoughtful hum, and turned back to the twins in her arm. Gratefulness surged through Cas for his sister and her mate for including Dean so easily, unlike the more misogynistic members of his family, who lined the cabinets in the back of the room in silence. “Do you have any experience with pups, Dean?”

 

“Sort of? I’ve helped take care of my nephew; he’s a toddler now.” Dean answered hesitantly. Michael scoffed in the corner, and Cas and both omega’s turned to glare at the older alpha. Dean continued with more confidence in his voice, still staring down Michael. “I’m also a fire Paramedic. And since Paramedics have more training than EMTs, I’ve hopped on a couple ambulances to deliver some pups before.”

 

Cas smiled smugly, and saw Anna ducking her face to hide her own sly grin.

 

“I see.” She nodded. “Would you like to hold one of them?”

 

Naomi and Michael recoiled, Cas assumed because a Paramedic/‘dirty prostitute’ would get to hold one of Anna’s pups before them.

 

“Ye-uh, sure.Yeah.” The male omega stammered, and Cas watched him approach the hospital bed and cautiously accept the pup Gadreel transferred into his arms.

 

“That one is Charles. He’s named after Anna’s late father.” Gadreel spoke quietly as they watched Dean start to slowly rock the wrapped bundle in his arms back and forth.

 

Naomi huffed in annoyance, but Chuck’s children had always loved their father and Cas was pleased Anna had chosen to remember him this way.

 

“Castiel, if you will,” Gadreel motioned Cas towards the bed, and he stepped forward despite his confusion as to the reason why.

 

Then Anna leaned over to place the second pup in his surprised arms, and Cas awkwardly maneuvered the sleeping pup in a more secure position closer to his face.

 

He looked towards Dean to see how he was cradling for the pup in his own arms, but was met with the firefighter quietly cooing at the newborn, and the image of it made the alpha’s heart hurt.

 

Cas had been alone for so long, he’d given up on expecting to have pups of his own. But this was a physical ache; wanting nothing more than for Dean to look at a pup he and Cas created together with the same soft green eyes and demure smile he had now.

 

The pup in Cas’ arms squirmed in his blanket, drawing the alpha’s attention back to the bundle as it nuzzled closer to Castiel’s chest and tickled his neck with the amber tuff of hair on its head.

 

“What is this one’s name?” he asked, glancing up to see Anna and Gadreel’s fond expressions.

 

“We’ve decided to name him James,” Anna announced, “after you.”

 

Shifting to carry James in one arm, Cas used the back of his free hand to rub the prickling sensations from his eyes, feeling incredibly undeserving for his middle name to have been used for Anna and Gadreel’s pup.

 

“Well, fuck. Guess that means Cassie is automatically that kid’s favorite uncle.” Gabriel muttered, loud enough to break the tension in the room. “Baby Chuck is mine though, so back off, Dean-o.”

 

Dean laughed, and curled Charles closer to his chest as if using his body to shield the pup from Gabriel, and Cas chucked at the beta’s face of mock hurt.

 

“Well, I think it’s about time for Charles to meet his grandmother.” Naomi cut in, stepping in front of Gabriel and reaching her arms out impatiently, waiting for the omega to reluctantly hand the pup to her. As soon as the pup settled in Naomi’s arm, it started wailing. “Hush, stop crying.”

 

“Here, do you want me to-” Dean started, holding his arms out in an offer to take the puppy back.

 

“No! I will not have some… stranger off the street hold my grandson any longer.” Naomi snapped, clutching Charles closer, who only cried louder.

 

“Mom, just give him back to Dean, he’s an omega, his scent will calm Charles down better than yours.” Anna said from the hospital bed. Cas noticed Gadreel straightening to his full height beside her, ready to intervene and protect his mate and pup if need be, and Cas mirrored the posture out of defense for Dean.

 

“No, Anna! I will handle this myself-”

 

At that, Charles let out a particularly loud scream, and Castiel pressed James closer to his neck, trying to offer scent comfort to prevent him from breaking out in tears like his twin.

 

“Mom, please. Just give him back to Dean, or me and Gadreel.”

 

“No, Anna, I can do this. I am just as capable as that _omega_ at calming my own grandson!”

 

Cas saw Dean raise his hands in surrender and take a step back.

 

“Well, at least we know what Charles’ designation will be…” Michael’s mumble was barely audible over the puppy’s cries, but Anna still heard it.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean, Michael?!” She snapped.

 

“What?” Michael retorted. “Obviously, Charles can’t control his emotions well, and that’s a typical omega trait. Don't sound so offended, I'm only stating facts!”

 

“He can’t control his emotions? He was born _less than an hour ago_!” Cas watched his sister screech at their oldest brother, and Gadreel’s scowl deepened.

 

“Well, I never cried when I was a pup, because I’m an alph-“ Michael began.

 

“Jesus Christ, Mikey. Would it kill you to go more than five minutes without talking about yourself?” Lucifer groaned from his seat on a cabinet counter in the back corner of the room.

 

“Excuse me, you’re calling me self-centered?” Michael responded, yelling over Charles’ continuing cries. “You think _I’m the one_ who’s self-centered? That’s like the pot calling the kettle black, except I’m not self-centered! I am the most realistic and down to Earth person in this family!”

 

“Just give me my puppy back, _please_ -“

 

“You gave got to be fucking shitting me right now, Mikey. I have done _everything_ for this family! And you took all the credit!” Lucifer shouted back, sliding off his counter to stand.

 

Gabriel and Kali quietly snuck out of the hospital room to avoid the impending fight, and Castiel wished he could follow the beta, but couldn’t bring himself to put down baby James down yet.

 

“ _Everything_? All you ever do is sit on your ass and complain, Lucifer!”

 

“I’m gonna ahead and wait outside with Gabriel.” Dean whispered, already walking backwards towards the door.

 

Cas nodded, watching the firefighter slip out the door, before surveying the room. Michael and Lucifer were edging towards each other, still arguing. Naomi was growing increasingly frustrated at her unsuccessful attempts to calm down Charles. Anna was slumped helplessly in her hospital bed, with Gadreel rubbing her shoulders and glaring at her family like he was ten seconds from murdering someone for upsetting her further.

 

Castiel looked at James, still curled tight against his shirt. “Not having the last name Novak is your first blessing in this world.” He mumbled into the fine hair at the top of James’ head as he began to rock the puppy the same way Dean had done earlier, happy the omega had been able to escape while he could.

  

* * *

 

 

Surprisingly, Gadreel lasted another half hour before kicking everyone out of the hospital room for distressing Anna too much, and Castiel ducked out with haste, only to scrutinize the empty waiting room in front of him.

 

The alpha strode to the end of the corridor and peered down either direction of the OB floor’s main hallway, which were both absent of an omega firefighter aimlessly wandering.

 

Cas stood there, contemplating what to do. He suspected it would be inappropriate to search the omega bathrooms next. But, Dean _was_ missing.

 

He shifted on his feet, torn for a moment, before he heard the chime of the elevator door opening at the far end of the hall and saw the tall omega step out.

 

He began walking in Dean’s direction, now recognizing he’d feared the omega would abandon him because of his family, and that the swooping sensation in his chest was a mixture of relief and disbelief that Dean had stayed.

 

“Everything good with Anna and the pups?” Dean asked when they came within speaking range of each other.

 

“Yes. I believe the pups were only crying because they had been in Michael and my mother’s presence for too long.” Finally meeting at the midway point of the hallway, the two stopped and stood face-to-face, probably much closer than most would call ‘casual’, but Dean didn’t object.

 

“Can’t say I blame the puppies.” Dean said, before his face brightened and excitement began to curl through his scent. “Anyway, I was just talking to Jess – I’ve told you about her before, right? My brother’s mate? She’s part time at the Rescue Squad, but is also a nurse in the ICU here.”

 

Cas nodded in understanding, lowering his face slightly to hide his embarrassed expression, remembering the awkward interaction he’d had with Jess and Garth a month ago because of his attraction to Dean.

 

“So I went to talk to her while you were having the Brady Family reunion up here, and she said they brought the omega from that last arsonist fire out of her medically induced coma last week.”

 

“Why were the police not informed of that?” Cas squinted. Surely the hospital knew how vital a witness the omega was for the investigation.

 

“’Cause she didn’t wake up on her own until a few days ago. Apparently they were waiting for her to adjust to everything before letting you know.”

 

“Does Jess think that will be soon?”

 

“Yeah. Said she was going to give you a call tomorrow morning. The girl’s good to go.”

 

“This is very good news.” Cas said, finally looking away from Dean’s eyes to run a hand through his unruly hair.

 

“Tell me about it. It’ll be a massive break in your case, right?” The omega shifted his body slightly backwards.

 

Cas nodded, falling into step beside the other man. “I’ll try to interview her tomorrow.” He stated plainly, too tired from the late hour to decide much else regarding the arsonist. “Thank you for accompanying me tonight. I’m sorry if my family offended you in anyway.” The alpha apologized quietly as they entered an empty elevator, still ashamed of his relatives’ behavior towards the omega.

 

The metal doors of the elevator closed, causing Dean’s snort to echo in the enclosed space. “I’ve heard worse,” the firefighter reassured, settling next to Castiel, close enough for their shoulders to brush together. “And I’m here for you, Cas. I got your back, especially around your dick family.”

 

Affection burned for the omega, feeling suspiciously similar to acid reflux, but nevertheless making a corner of Castiel’s mouth curl up.

 

“Thank you, Dean,” was the only logical response the alpha could think of in that moment. It still seemed inadequate at expressing the depth of Castiel’s emotions towards the green eyed man, so, taking a deep, silent inhale, he closed the few inches of distance between their hands hanging limply at their sides and intertwined Dean’s slightly smaller hand with his own.

 

With a jolt, the alpha realized this was the first time he’d ever touched Dean. Unsure if he was crossing any boundaries, Cas peeked at the other man, seeing Dean’s cheeks tinted pink and another shy smile shining across the firefighter’s stunning face. Cas interpreted this as a positive sign, and returned the small squeeze his hand received.

 

“Does that mean you’d like to join me tomorrow morning when I interview the victim?” He asked, knowing that his usual partner would most likely be in hiding for a few days until Michael and Lucifer left town.

 

“Uh,” Dean balked. “Won’t that be kind of illegal? Seeing how I’m not a cop or anything.”

 

Castiel smirked.

 

* * *

 

 

“I swear to God, if I get arrested for this, you’re busting my ass out of prison.” Dean complained the next morning, shifting uncomfortably in the suit Cas had loaned him.

 

Don’t get him wrong, something about wearing Cas’ clothes was… Well, Dean kind of liked it. Mostly because he was surrounded by the alpha’s scent of rain and apple pie. Actually, smelling like pie was the only thing he liked about wearing Cas’ clothes, Dean decided, as he adjusted the tight sleeves of the suit that was four sizes too small for him.

 

_“Wear a suit and pretend like you know what you’re doing.” Cas had reassured him._

_“I don’t have a suit. Nicest thing I have is my firefighter dress uniform, and something tells me that’ll be a bit of a giveaway that I’m not a detective.” Dean replied, following the alpha out of the elevator and towards the hospital exit._

_“I have plenty of suits for you to wear.”_

 

Yeah, never happening again. Dean will be sure to snag one of Sam’s monkey suits the next time he ever needs one.

 

“Of course, Dean.” Cas replied seriously, leading their way through the ICU, pausing to scan room numbers and signs every so often.

 

“Remind me again why Gabriel, y’know, your _actual_  partner didn’t come along to this?” The omega tried to keep up with Castiel, legs struggling to lengthen his strides without feeling like the pants were going to rip in half.

 

“Trust me when I say Gabriel is as glad as I am that you’re here in his place.” Cas said, slowing his walk as they approached a beta police officer standing guard outside a hospital room.

 

After briefly acknowledging the police officer, a blonde woman named Donna that Dean immediately liked the second she offered him a powdered donut, the two men entered the hospital room.

 

The first thing that hit Dean was the smell. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cas stiffen and wrinkle his nose, but when Dean took a whiff, he couldn’t scent _anything_. Sure, there was that sterile, underlying hospital scent and fragrance coming from a vase of purple flowers next to the bed, but that was it. All Dean could smell off the other omega was exhaustion. Freakin’ weird.

 

“Hello. Can I help you boys?” The woman asked, voice raspy from the lingering smoke inhalation damage to her esophagus.

 

“My name is Detective Novak, and this is my partner Detective Collins. We’re here to ask you some questions about your incident.”

 

The brown haired woman just stared at them.

 

God, she knew. Dean hadn’t even said a word and she already knew he was faking; he just ruined Cas’ chances of having his questions answered. How many years do you get for impersonating a police detective? Dean gave her a tight lipped smile. He wondered if Sam would represent him in court for free.

 

“Oh, jeez, sorry huns,” the woman’s face instantly came back to life, and Dean saw Cas flinch back a little at the sudden change. “I think the pain meds the nurse gave me a few minutes ago just kicked in, I must have zoned out for a second. What were your questions?”

 

Dean let out an internal sigh of relief, forcing himself to relax more, and turned to see Cas pulling out a notebook and file folders from his trench coat pockets like it was Mary Poppins’ purse.

 

“First, I would like to discuss where you got those.” Cas deadpanned, pointing at the flowers beside the female in bed.

 

Dean raised his eyebrows at the alpha. That seriously couldn’t be his first question. He thought Cas was supposed to be the professional one here.

 

“Uh,” the omega victim seemed as equally confused as Dean. “They were a gift.”

 

“Are you currently mated?” Cas followed up.

 

Both omega’s gave the alpha an questioning look. What was Cas trying to get at?

 

“Um, no. I’m not. Is that relevant to the case?” She replied, unreadable expression still etched on her face.

 

“Yes. Very.” The detective stated, and for a second Dean thought he’d actually explain his thought process, but of course not. Cas hopped right into another question. “Who gave you those?”

 

Again, both omegas looked completely thrown by what he was asking.

 

“Who gave me flowers?” the woman repeated back. “The firefighter that saved me came by the other day and gave them to me.”

 

Funny, Dean didn’t remember giving her flowers, and he’s got the nightmares to prove he was the one to carry this omega out of her burning building. Unless… “Was he a big burly alpha? Like a giant teddy bear with a Cajun accent?”

 

Interestingly, the woman ducked her head, and a faint blush spread over her cheeks. “Yeah, he’s a regular at the restaurant I own. I had no idea he was a firefighter.” She huffed a small smile.

 

Benny, you sly dog.

 

“Well, he sounds like a real dreamboat, you should keep him.” Dean spoke, earning him confused looks from both of the other occupants in the room.

 

“My apologies. I only wanted to know if you were mated; all other victims in this arsonist’s case have been unmated omegas. It’s important we establish that the arsonist is acting in the same pattern as before.” Cas cut in, which was probably for the best, since the girl couldn’t stop blushing and glancing at the flowers, and Dean was having trouble not breaking out in laughter at Benny 's visit. “I looked over your toxicology report, Ms. Kormos,” he resumed, selecting a few papers and passing them to Dean. “It says there were a number of sedative drugs in your body when you first arrived at the hospital. Do you remember how those came to be in your system?”

 

“Please, call me Andrea. And… no, not exactly. I was at the bar one moment, and tied to a chair the next, I think.”

 

Dean scanned the toxicology report; there were plenty of different sedatives, all in small quantities, with one in particular that jumped out at him. “It says in your toxicology that there was O-Flunitrazepam in your system. That’s an omega-specific date rape drug. Did someone buy you a drink that night?”

 

Andrea paled and ran a shaky hand through her hair as she spoke. “Y-yes, I think so.”

 

“Andrea, could you please describe as much as you can about the day you were taken?” Cas’ voice was firm.

 

“I, uh, drove to work in the morning like usual. I own a Cajun food joint; I spent most of the day in the kitchen. I didn’t notice anything strange then.” Andrea said with a faraway look in her eyes, trying to remember. “Then… Then one of my friends texted me about getting dumped, and we made plans to meet with some of our other friends and get drunk together to help cheer her up. The bar she chose was only a couple blocks from my restaurant, and I remember deciding to walk there once I closed up my place.”

 

“Is the bar where you imbibed alcohol that someone else purchased for you?” Cas interrupted, sounding like he swallowed an entire dictionary. Who the hell even says ‘imbibed’ anymore?

 

“Yeah. I was early since I walked, I guess. I don’t remember seeing any of my friends in the bar yet when I got there.”

 

“Did someone approach you then?”

 

The female omega stared at the bedsheets draped over her legs and nervously fiddled with the pulse oximetry monitor on her finger.

 

The part inside Dean that eagerly sat through two years of emergency medicine classes for his Paramedic certification couldn’t help but follow the cord from her finger to where it connected to the screens next to her bed, and the rest of the room got tuned out into exchanges of quiet and rough voices while he studied her vital signs flashing on the screen.

 

“Detective Collins, did you hear that?” Cas’ deep voice brought Dean out of his train of thought, and he slowly blinked at the two people staring at him. “Dean…” Cas repeated, and the male omega was surprised to hear the alpha growling.

 

Cas’ delicious apple pie scent was stormier than usual, with dark spikes of anger, making Dean swallow audibly. “Sorry, zoned out there. Could you repeat that?” He asked Andrea, too nervous to look at Cas right now.

 

“She said,” Cas growled again, and Dean would find the noise sexy if his inner omega wasn’t so terrified of the alpha being upset with him for getting distracted. “That the man that approached her was an alpha with yellow eyes.”

 

“… Well, fuck.” Dean accidentally thought out loud.

 

Was that why Cas was angry? Because there could only be so many yellow eyed alphas in Sioux Falls, and one had tried to pick Dean up last night?

 

He shared a look with Cas, understanding the dark scents from the alpha were more protectiveness and possessiveness than anger.

 

One of Cas’ eyebrows were raised and his lips were pursed, and he stared right back at Dean for a full minute before Andrea interrupted.

 

“Um, am I missing something?”

 

“Was the yellow eyed alpha with a male beta? Tall, light brown hair, possibly with a beard?” Cas asked her without removing his eyes from Dean’s.

 

“Uh, I think so. Yeah, yeah he was. I was sitting at the bar alone, still waiting for my friends, I think.” Andrea’s voice grew quieter, and Dean broke eye contact with Cas to see her shoulders drooping and eyes downcast; classic signs of an omega trying to make themselves as small and nonthreatening as possible. “The two men sat next to me. The alpha with the yellow eyes, h-he did most of the talking.” Dean flashed a meaningful look at Cas - these guys had to be the same ones from the Roadhouse last night. “The beta didn’t say much. They were both a little strange, but they bought me a drink, so I kept talking to them to be polite. I drank the drink so I wouldn’t, you know,” she shrugged, but Dean finished for her.

 

She drank the drink so she wouldn’t offend the alpha and beta that bought it for her. He knew the feeling - of being pressured to always do right by the nearest alpha, so he grabbed a chair from the side of the room and scooted it closer to Andrea’s bed, taking a seat and reaching for her hand in a show of support. The female omega gave him a grateful smile and straightened her shoulders back up a little.

 

Cas, however, did not understand the omegas’ feeling, and did that stupidly cute head-tilt-eye-squint combo at them. “So you wouldn’t be thirsty?”

 

“No. No, I just- I drank it, alright! I shouldn’t have. The last thing I remember at the bar was looking at the bottom of the empty glass once I finished it.” Andrea said.

 

Dean could tell from her scent that she was growing scared, but he still couldn’t smell _her_ , dammit.

 

“Is that the last thing you remember before waking up in the hospital bed?” He asked, feeling like he should at least start playing his part as a pretend detective, instead of staring at her medical reports and trying to sniff nothing.

 

“I wish.” And if that wasn’t the most ominous thing to have come out of Andrea’s mouth, Dean didn’t know what else was. “I blacked out after finishing the drink, and I sort of remember brief flashes of being inside my car trunk, and then I woke up in some dark room.”

 

“How do you know you were transported in your personal vehicle?” Dean leaned closer on his chair to ask. Did he really just say ‘personal vehicle’ instead of ‘car’? God, Cas was already rubbing off on him too much.

 

At the question, Andrea gave a half-hearted smirk before answering. “I buy fresh herbs and spices for my restaurant and grind them myself. I accidentally left some tarragon and cumin I’d bought the day before in the trunk. I vaguely remember being bumped around in the trunk while they drove, but I definitely remember the smell of my spices. I’m sure they used my car.”

 

“But you walked to the bar. You left your car at your restaurant.” Cas stated.

 

The female omega shook her head minutely at the alpha, unable to provide an explanation.

 

“That’s alright, Andrea.” Dean said. “You mentioned a room after being in your trunk. Can you describe it?”

 

“Um, well, I wasn’t really conscious, but I also wasn’t unconscious, y’know? I think they gave me something else, I remember a needle in my neck when I woke up. It was like I was half awake, but couldn’t move. They said they wanted me to remember what they did to me.” Andrea spoke quietly, clearly getting more emotional as she recalled that night, and the male omega gripped her hand tighter and willed himself to smell calm enough to help her relax.

 

“Your toxicology shows that everything in your system was a low dosage.” Dean said, flipping back through her report in case he missed anything. “So you’re probably right, it’s very likely they dosed you again with something different, more like a muscle sedative and less date rape-y; something to keep you awake but still compliant.”

 

Andrea nodded, and a tear slid down her face before she scrubbed it away.

 

“Please tell us as much as you can about what happened next.”  Cas spoke from right behind Dean, and he turned to see that the alpha had moved across the room and now stood with his hands gripping the back of Dean’s chair.  

 

“I – well, I was sitting in a chair. Everything was hazy, but I-I knew I was tied to a chair. And there-there was the alpha and beta from b-before, but it was _different.”_ The female omega’s voice choked, and Dean could see tiny tremors racking her body. He stood from his chair to press against the railing of her hospital bed, letting Andrea rest her head against his chest with a watery smile, and he started running his fingers through the other omega’s hair, like how his mom used to whenever he got upset.

 

“Different how?” Cas asked, claiming the vacated seat and watching the omegas without comment.

 

“I don’t know. The drugs – I couldn’t really see what I was looking at, but the scent of t-the alpha might’ve been different. He seemed off.” Andrea spoke softly into Dean’s shirt, wrapping her arms around his torso tighter.

 

Thank God Cas was all business, and actually processed what she’d just said, unlike Dean. “You mean that the beta smelled the same, but there’s a possibility the alpha had access to scent-disguising chemicals to confuse you? Or that the alpha with you in the room was not the same alpha from the bar?”

 

“I c-can’t be s-sure.” Andrea hiccupped. “I can’t remember their faces in the room. He just smelled different. But he was t-the one that said I needed to remember what they were doing to me. And that I-I d-deserved it.” More tears began to stream down Andrea’s face, and Dean shot Cas a concerned look over his shoulder.

 

The alpha’s lips were tightly pressed together and his jaw clenched, giving him a whole smiteful-pout look that would have been totally sexy in a completely different setting. “He told you that you deserved it.” Cas’ voice was flat, and Dean saw the detective’s knuckles turn white around the plastic armrests of his chair. “What happened next.”

 

* * *

 

 

Cas was pissed. Dean matched his angry stride, falling into step beside the detective like they’d been around each other for years, not days.

 

“Unbelievable.” The alpha repeated for what had to be the fifth time in as many minutes.

 

Dean glared at nothing, absently rubbing the still damp spot on his suit where Andrea’s tears had soaked through. Honestly, Dean was a little pissed Cas had insisted Andrea tell them every single detail. Sure, it was his job, but making someone describe how some monsters cut into her over and over again was a whole other type of torture.

 

Glancing at the real detective, still stomping his way out the automatic doors of the hospital, Dean couldn’t find it in himself to fault Castiel for his questions.  He was mad the detective had to ask them, but the reason they’d left was because the scent of Cas’ anger was getting too strong, which had to count for something in the empathy department.

 

Dean risked placing a hand on the detective’s forearm, surprised when the other man twisted around abruptly, staring down Dean. The longer they stared, the more tension seemed to drain from Cas’ body, until he was staring into Dean’s eyes with a defeated look.

 

“I’m sorry the protective instincts of my secondary gender got the better of me just now. Please forgive me, Dean.” The detective slumped.

 

“Yeah, ‘course, man. It happens. Don’t worry about it.” Dean patted Cas’ shoulder. “What’s your next move? Talk to Gabriel?”

 

“No. We didn’t thoroughly examine Andrea’s car at the crime scene; we hadn’t known it was an accessory to her kidnapping. Her car is in our police impound lot, I plan on going there now to search for any remaining evidence we missed inside the vehicle.”

 

“Sounds like a good plan.”

 

Castiel looked curiously at Dean. “Would you like to assist me?”

 

The omega grimaced. “I’d love to, man, but I’m covering for a friend at the fire station so they can go to their kid’s birthday party.”

 

“I see. And you’re leaving for that now?”

 

“Yeah, actually.” Dean really hoped he wasn’t imagining the disappointed look in the alpha’s blue eyes. “I promised I’d start covering their shift starting in a few minutes; I’ll probably head straight there from here.”

 

“Oh.” Cas seemed to be considering something for a moment, before continuing. “Would this be an ideal time to kiss you?”

 

Dean balked at the bluntness, eyes involuntarily dropping to Cas’ mouth. The detective poked the tip of his pink tongue out, wetting the corner of his lips.

 

It probably would be a good time. He should probably kiss Cas, shouldn’t he? He’d spent the last month falling in lov-nope, not saying that- falling in _like_ with Castiel the man. Not Castiel the alpha, that smelled like absolute fucking heaven, but with Cas – his personality and mannerisms and sarcastic jokes. And, this should be easy, this decision to kiss him or not. Hell, Dean _wanted_ to, but… hesitated.

 

Kissing Cas would make things final. It would be like printing an expiration date on them, where there hadn’t been one before. Dean was a time bomb in relationships, and he just really wanted to… not ruin things for once. 

 

Dammit, Dean didn’t think there was anyone upstairs in heaven watching over them, but he’d still prayed so many times to not fuck this up with Cas, just like the million other times Dean had fucked things up.

  

Cas turned his face away, but Dean didn’t miss the forlorn look in those pretty blue eyes.

 

God, it was like Dean couldn’t win no matter what he did.

 

“It’s okay, Dean. I-” Cas’ voice wavered, and- _fuck_.

 

It was so fucking _Cas_ to apologize for Dean’s fucking problems, and Dean just _couldn’t do it anymore._

 

He reached out and grabbed Cas’ blue tie just as the detective began turning away, forcefully yanking the smaller man closer so Dean could release the tie and capture Cas’ face in between his hands, feeling stubble inching his palms as Dean ducked to press his lips square against the alpha’s, trying to convey how much he’d been holding back in a hard press against Cas’ slightly chapped lips. The omega squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to savor the sensation but unable to block out the self-deprecating thoughts yelling at him inside his head, which all but disappeared when he felt Cas’ sigh of relief and warm hands settling on Dean’s waist.

 

Dean almost regretted when he pulled away from the kiss, keeping it chaste and hospital-parking-lot-classy, but got to see Cas’ cheeks tint pink and his eyes slowly blink open, revealing a sparkling blue hue and lighting up a smile on Dean’s own face.

 

His thumb slowly brushed one of the cheekbones underneath it, not having removed his hands from the sides of the detective’s face, and felt Cas lean into the touch with a small upwards curl of his own plush lips.

 

“You’ll be late to work, Dean.” The alpha chided, amused glint still in his eyes.

 

“Worth it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm aware this chapter is 95% fluff. But we (mostly me) need it, cause things are gonna hurt real bad, real soon.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	6. The One Where Cas Meets Charlie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh!!! I am SO SORRY this is late! Every time I thought I'd have time to sit down and write, something would pop up  
> I promise chapter 7 will be up in 1-2 weeks though!
> 
> Also, if this chapter seems rushed, that's because it was. I had a lot of things planned for it but then it started getting too long and I didn't have a lot of time, and just wanted to post it for you all since it's so late
> 
> So, after an extremely long wait that I apologize for again, here's chapter 6. 
> 
> Enjoy 5,000+ more words than usual
> 
> Thanks for reading!!

 

A young female omega sat inside the small security booth when Cas approached the entrance to the police impound lot, too engrossed in the magazine lying on her desk to notice the alpha coming to a stop outside the booth’s window. He stood there for a minute, awkwardly shifting on his feet before politely knocking on the security glass separating them.

 

The girl continued lounging and flipping glossy pages in silence. ~~~~

Cas looked around; maybe she somehow hadn’t heard him. But there were no signs suggesting the booth was sound proof, so he raised his hand again, prepared to knock a second time.

 

“Are you going to tell me what you want, or are you planning on standing there all day and annoying me?”

 

His hand paused. The omega hadn’t looked up from her magazine when she’d spoken, and Cas’ mouth opened and closed as he worked to swallow his surprise.

 

“My apologies,” his throat finally cleared. “I was looking to retrieve the keys for a vehicle registered under the name of Andrea Kormos; I need to inspect it for possible evidence that may have previously been overlooked.”

 

The girl, with a lopsided nametag that read ‘Krissy’, heaved herself out of her desk chair with a sigh and walked towards a file cabinet leaning against the back wall; a small TV broadcasting the afternoon news perched on top wobbling a bit as she sorted through the papers inside.

 

“Let me see some ID first, pretty boy.” She drawled when she returned, holding a manila folder to her chest.

 

Cas felt his eyes squint in confusion at her addressment, but still slid his detective badge through the slot in the glass window, tugging on the sleeves of his trench coat self-consciously as she brought the badge to her face and scrutinized it.

 

“What kind of name is Cast-eel?”

 

“Castiel,” He corrected. “I’m named after the angel of Thursday.”

 

“Today is Saturday.” She stared blankly at him.

 

Cas wasn’t willing to dignify her observation with a response, and remained silent until she returned his badge and handed over the file with another deep sigh.

 

“Whatever. Here’s the paperwork on the lady’s car. We have security cameras watching the whole place, so don’t try to tamper with anything, alright?”

 

The alpha collected the items with an uneasy nod, and walked past the security booth and into the fenced impound lot, only to realize he hadn’t asked directions for the quickest way to Andrea’s car. He made to turn back to the booth, but saw Krissy distracted again, this time by the TV, so Cas continued into impound, resolved to navigate his way on his own.

 

In hindsight, he wished he’d gone back and asked. It took an embarrassingly long amount of time wandering rows of crushed and intact cars before he finally located the correct section Andrea’s car was parked in - and then spent even more time searching for her vehicle’s description and license plate. By the time he reached her car, Cas had sweat through his dress shirt, and was using his tie to wipe the sweat from his brow.

 

His examination of the car’s exterior was probably much quicker than it should’ve been, but there were no obvious markings relevant to the case, and the only thing he was able to concentrate on was the idea of going home to Dean and a cold shower.

 

The front and back seats were also absent of any evidence from the two or three arsonists Andrea claimed to have encountered. A woman’s sweatshirt, spare coins, and bobby pins were the only things littering the inside of the car, and Castiel closed the doors with the conclusion that the arsonists must’ve expertly removed any trace of themselves.

 

Moving to the back of the car, Cas warily opened the trunk, and was promptly hit with the rotting scents of Andrea’s spices. Her admission of how she knew she was transported in her own car based on smell, even through the haze of drugs, made much more sense now, as he tried to cough the awful odor from of his lungs.

 

Not caring if he looked immature, Castiel covered his nose and mouth with a sleeve of his tan coat, and used his remaining free hand to pull out and shine his flashlight into the dark trunk space.

 

Browned blood stains were pooled all over the trunk’s fabric floor, and Cas leaned forward to examine them closer, but immediately pulled back when another coughing fit overtook him. He eyed the crumpled paper grocery bag, which he suspected housed the culprits of the foul smell, lying among the stains, and decided any further investigation here was a job for police forensics and their black light technology. Also, gas masks.

 

He closed the trunk with a slam, and inhaled a deep, stench-free breath of air. What Castiel wouldn’t have given to breathe Dean’s fresh scent in at that moment, or better yet, for the male omega to be beside him helping investigate. He was certain Dean’s commentary of Andrea’s expired cooking supplies’ smell would have been entertaining, and th-

 

A buzz from his cell phone drew him away from the daydream, and he pulled the phone from his pocket to scroll through the notifications flashing on his screen.

 

**Text from Dean 12:04PM:**

**got a friend working on finding the 2dudes thru security cams. i expect a 4 course meal from you when we find them before your police techs do. & 3/4 of those courses better be pie**

**Email from cbradbury@gmail to novakc@siouxfallsPD and novakg@siouxfallsPD 12:43:**

Mugshots of the two men from the Roadhouse, and most likely Andrea’s story, loaded on his phone with attached files labeled ‘criminal records’.

 

Cas zoomed in on the images of beta Jack “The Ripper” Alastair and alpha Lawrence “Yellow Eyes” Azazel, both much younger in the pictures than they looked now.

 

The alpha saved the email and thumbed through the remaining notifications on his phone again, selecting the most recent one that had alerted him in the first place.

 

**Text from Gabe 12:45:**

**who tf is cbradbury & y they send us pix of 2 randos **

Cas cringed at Gabriel’s crude texting language, and ignored his brother’s usual advice to revert back to a 6 year old’s grammar level when he typed out his own response and sent it.

 

**Text from Castiel to Gabe 12:48:**

**They are a friend of Dean’s. Please put out an APB for Alastair and Azazel, as they are both now our top suspects in the arsonist case.**

 

At that, he returned the phone to his trench’s pocket and locked Andrea’s car.

 

The walk back to the security booth was much faster now that the alpha had more spatial awareness of the lot, and he quickly found himself at the booth’s window, waiting for the young omega inside to acknowledge him again.

 

Cas shuffled his feet on the pavement before knocking lightly on the glass window, trying to politely capture Krissy’s attention, but the omega’s back was turned and showed no indication that she knew Castiel was outside waiting awkwardly.

 

He stared at her harder, willing her to notice him, but she didn’t budge. The alpha tried following her line of sight to see what was distracting her this time, and traced it to the small portable TV on top of the filing cabinet.

 

Occupying the TV’s screen was a female news reporter on a busy sidewalk, talking into a microphone and gesturing to something out of view of the camera; nothing captivating or exciting enough to warrant the omega’s complete lack of regard towards her job, in Castiel’s opinion. Subtitles scrolled across the bottom of the screen, closed captioning the reporter’s words and suggesting the volume was muted, which meant Krissy should’ve easily been able to hear Cas outside.

 

He sighed, and got as far as “excuse me, but-” before the news’ camera on TV panned to follow the reporter’s pointing arm, and Castiel felt all the air squeeze from his lungs.

 

“Sorry. Didn’t see you there.” Came a very _not-sorry_ voice, but Castiel didn’t have half the mind to get offended. He spared the omega attendant less than a second’s glance before his eyes glued themselves to the TV again.

 

“Turn on the volume.”

 

“…What?”

 

“Turn on. The volume.” He heard his voice repeat.

 

She mumbled something he didn’t bother listening to before the volume clicked on and the reporter’s British accent became audible. Dread pitted his stomach as the reporter spoke, making him look away from the screen quickly to scan for any nearby trashcans. Cas held himself together through the reporter’s continuing monologue, watching the images flash on screen while his heart thudded painfully in his chest, until the news’ camera changed angles again - and then the only thing he heard was the pounding of his feet on pavement as he took off running to his car.

 

* * *

 

 

Dean stepped out of Baby, awkwardly untangling his arms from the mess of Cas’ tie and shirt he’d half-changed out of while driving, and immediately stumbled back a step when a red blur of omega rushed him, wrapping slender arms around his waist.

 

“Greetings, Padawan! I got your text about doing super-secret sneaky stuff and got here as fast as I could.” Charlie chirped, releasing Dean from her strangle hold/hug and heading towards the Impala’s trunk, opening it, and lifting Dean’s duffel out.

 

“Dude, I texted you about that less than 5 minutes ago. I didn’t even tell you I was going to be here.” Dean said, stealing the duffle bag from her and tossing it over his own shoulder as they made their way through the back parking lot and into the garage bays.

 

“This is why I’m the Jedi Master and you’re the Padawan.” Her voice dropped in a crappy imitation of Obi Wan while Dean ducked around an engine to protect some semblance of his modesty and quickly change out of the rest of the borrowed suit and into his Company t-shirt and sweatpants.

 

Once he was decent, he followed after the skipping redhead upstairs, where she’d already set up her TARDIS laptop and a family size bag of Cool Ranch Doritos on the couch. The firefighter tossed his bag and Cas’ suit into the omega bunkroom, noticing Jo’s stuff resting on top an empty bed. Dean smiled; it sucked to leave Cas at the hospital, but at least he’d be finally able to work with his (basically) little sister while he was filling in for their friend’s shift. Assuming she was already off playing video games with Ash somewhere else in the station, Dean rejoined Charlie, plopping down next to her on the sofa and peering over her arm.

 

“Jedi Master, huh? That has nothing to do with you tracking my phone’s location and seeing I was heading towards the station, right?” Dean asked, pointing at the GPS program pulled up on Charlie’s laptop that showed a blinking green dot labeled ‘Handmaiden Dean’ on top of an image of the fire station.

 

“Hm.. No, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Charlie hummed unashamedly, minimizing the program before Dean could read any other labels on the map. A different screen popped up and Charlie began typing. “So you said you needed access to surveillance tapes? Any place in particular? Or are we going full Big Brother on all of Sioux Falls here?”

 

“I need them from a bar within walking distance from a Cajun place downtown, from about a month ago.” Dean said, popping a Dorito in his mouth and crunching.

 

“Gee, Dean, would it hurt you to be a little more specific?” She asked dryly. “There are at least three Cajun places in Sioux Falls, and we have over twelve bars. Unless you’re including nightclubs, in which case, we have four more-”

 

God bless Benny for choosing that moment to enter the day room and save Dean from Charlie’s ramblings.

 

“Winchester, M’lady,” the big alpha greeted with a tip of his old sailor hat as he walked towards the alpha bunks.

 

“Hey, Benny,” Dean made the other man pause mid-step. “What’s the name of that Cajun restaurant run by the omega girl you’re secretly in love with?”

 

“You mean Andrea’s Craws and Claws?”

 

A shit eating grin spread over Dean’s face and Charlie let out a sing-song “Oooo”, before her fingers started clicking away on her keyboard.

 

Benny, much to Dean’s further enjoyment, didn’t realize his mistake until it was too late, and tightened the grip around his duffel bag’s strap with a faint “crap.”

 

“Tell us, Lafitte: what item on the menu made you realize it was true love?” The male omega couldn’t help teasing.

 

“Very funny, Dean. Like you haven’t been cradling your phone non-stop talking to that detective every-“

 

_ARROOOGAH. AROOOOGAH._

 

Tones sounded throughout the station, perking Dean and Benny up. The door to the beta bunkroom burst open, revealing Kevin frantically panting with black hair sticking up and imprints lines from a pillow on his face. Gordon stepped out of the alpha door, tucking in his shirt, apparently having woken from his midday nap much more gracefully than Kevin. Bobby’s Captain’s room door was the next to follow, and the older beta casually strolled into the day room, yawning over a cup of coffee calmly despite the blaring sirens still going off.

 

_12:23_

_Company 23, Rescue 30_

_Alarm Sounding_

_Apple Hill Apartments, 2245 Rosslyn Ln., Sioux Falls_

_Multiple residents have called reporting alarms going off behind a restricted-access door leading to the basement level. Building manager is being contacted to meet responders on scene to unlock the door_

Everybody in the day room relaxed; Dean subconsciously rubbed the Company 26 logo on his shirt as Kevin shuffled back into the beta bunkroom and Gordon walked past the couch to grab food from the fridge and then wordlessly headed downstairs.

 

Bobby came closer to lean over the back of the couch and squint at Charlie’s laptop screen, coffee sloshing a little over the edge of his mug at the movement. “Do I even want to know what you idjits are gettin’ up to in here?”

 

“We’re helping Dean’s boyfriend investigate the arsonist case.” Charlie stated before Dean could answer, and he turned to see Bobby arch a questioning eyebrow at him.

 

_“Engine 23 responding.”_

_“Rescue 34 responding.”_

_Engine 23, Rescue 34 responding. 12:25_

“He’s not my-” Dean tried to argue, only to be cut off by Charlie again.

 

“Oh? He’s not your boyfriend? Dean, I don’t think even you could explain away 40-200 minutes of phone conversation every day for the past month as only platonic.”

 

Benny and Bobby both snorted.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, jackasses. It’s creepy you even know that... Get back to your nerd thing.” Dean mumbled, then stole another handful of Charlie’s Doritos to spite her, angrily munching on them while her fingers continued flying over her keyboard.

 

“Bitches better get ready to bow down,” Charlie smirked triumphantly. “There are only two bars within short walking distances of Andrea’s Craws and Claws, and _somebody_ ,” she pointed both hands towards herself, “just got into both bars’ security mainframes. And lookie here; one of them has a missing person’s report filed there for a Ms. Andrea Kormos.”

 

Benny dropped his bag where he stood and joined the huddle around the laptop, watching the redhead enter in the date and approximate time from the police report, and skim through black and white footage from a security feed aimed outside the bar’s front door.

 

_“Radio, go ahead and mark Engine 23 and Rescue 34 both on location.”_

_Engine 24, Rescue 34 on location. 12:28_

“M’kay, so, this is around 8PM that night.” Charlie fast forwarded just enough to make out the face of each person entering and leaving the bar, and then sat back to wait.

 

It didn’t take long before Benny was pointing at the screen. “There. Her.”

 

Charlie froze the frame of Andrea walking into the bar alone at 9:14PM.

 

“Time to work the real magic,” the redhead stretched her hands to crack her knuckles, muttered a small “ _ow_ ” when nothing popped, then began typing more code on her computer, pulling up another window and clicking through it.

 

“What magic are we supposed to be waitin’ on here?” Bobby asked, taking a sip from his coffee.

 

“I made my own Charlie Bradbury Approved facial recognition software; it shouldn’t be long before it finds Andrea on the tapes again.” Charlie answered, reclining back into the couch and snatching the Dorito on its way to Dean’s mouth from his hand and tossing it into her own mouth instead with a smug smile.

 

“Well, how come it’s taking so long?” Dean looked up at Benny’s question, noticing the anxious scent rolling off the alpha.

 

“Please, my software is lightyears faster than the junk they use at the Police Department,” she countered, stealing another Dorito from Dean’s hand.  “I’m telling you, they’d be waiting a week for what my baby can do in minutes.”

Apparently that was the end of the discussion, and they watched the software scan faces on the tape in silence. It was another minute until the laptop _pinged,_ and the small group leaned forward in unison when the black and white image jumped to show Andrea leaving the bar at 9:36PM, crowded between two men with their arms wrapped around her waist, bracing the female omega as she stumbled to support her own weight.

 

A deep growl rumbled in Benny’s chest, and Bobby mumbled a quiet “that shit ain’t right” as Charlie clicked to zoom in the men’s faces.

 

Even before her computer finished de-pixelating the two blurry faces, Dean knew who they were. Shit, if only he’d known when they were hitting on him at the Roadhouse. Although, if anything, at least it meant their two suspects hadn’t left Sioux Falls, and Cas could-

 

_“Engine 23 to radio.”_

Dean lifted his head towards the radio speaker in the room, as if that’d help him hear the buzzing voice of the firefighter from 23 better. He noticed Bobby also straighten up and turn with a frown on his face, still sipping his coffee.

 

_Engine 23: go ahead_

 

_“We checked out the basement level; it smells like there’s a possible leak in the gas furnace. We’ve started evacuating the building to prevent gas exposure, but could you send another engine here to help out?”_

_Engine 23 evacuating Apple Hill Apartment complex, calling for additional apparatus, 12:33_

The _AROOGAH_ tones went off through the station again, but Bobby, Dean, and Benny were already halfway across the room.

 

_Second due response, 12:34_

_Company 26, Hazmat 4_

_Odor Investigation_

_Apple Hill Apartments, 2245-_

“Charlie, once you get their faces and names, send their info to Detectives Castiel and Gabriel Novak, got it?” Dean shouted over the dispatcher’s voice, pivoting at the top of the stairwell to see her stricken expression from the sofa.

 

“’Kay, be safe,” was what he thought she said back, but tossed the thought away as he jogged to the garage bays and joined the rest of his crew throwing on their heavy gear.

 

_“Hazmat engine 4 responding.”_

_Hazmat 4 responding, 12:34_

“Boy, get that truck running and mark us up!” Bobby yelled at Dean from where he was struggling with the Velcro on his jacket.

 

The omega sped around the front of the truck, tossing his unfastened helmet onto Bobby’s seat on the passenger side, grabbed the radio and clicked it on.

 

“Medic Engine 26 responding.”

 

He climbed into the driver’s seat, haphazardly putting his helmet on as the older beta clamored into the passenger seat.

 

_Medic Engine 26 responding, 12:34_

 

Dean twisted the keys in the ignition, feeling the familiar rumble of the diesel engine start up.

 

“Everybody on?” Bobby called to the seats farther down the truck.

 

“Everybody’s on board, Cap’n.” Benny boomed back to them.

 

“Sounds good. Let’s roll.” Dean said, flipping on the emergency lights and pulling out of the bays.

 

* * *

 

 

As dumb as it sounded, they heard the building when they were a mile and a half a way.

 

It shook the city with a resounding _BOOM_ heard even over the firetruck’s sirens _,_ followed by bright orange flames shooting into the air.

 

“Holy mother of balls.” Bobby summarized, as the fire receded a little, but still remaining visible over the rooftops of smaller buildings.

 

_“MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY. Engine 23 to radio, the entire building’s caught fire, we’re going to need every unit we’ve got.”_

_Engine 23 Mayday, 12:38_

_All due response. Repeat: all due response_

_Company 25, Company 28, Tower 1, Tower 2_

_Structure fire_

_Apple Hill Apartments, 2245 Rosslyn Ln., Sioux Falls_

_Engine 23, Rescue 34, Hazmat 4 on location. Medic Engine 26 in route_

_Five story apartment building, residents have been evacuating from gas exposure since 12:33. Building manager being contacted to provide list of residents unaccounted for_

Shit shit shit. Dean felt the adrenaline inside him doubling and tripling, jacking up his heartrate as he gunned the gas pedal to the floor.

_“Engine 28 responding.”_

_“Tower 1 and 2 responding.”_

_“Medic Engine 25 responding.”_

_Engine 28, Medic Engine 25, Tower 1, Tower 2 responding. 12:39_

The older beta took the radio once the dispatcher’s voice ended, clicking it on and speaking into it. “Medic Engine 26 to Apple Hill command, where do you want us?”

 

_“Firefighter Captain Cain in command; pull your engine up to the south side of the building.”_

“South side, copy.”

 

_“Command to 26, do you have two teams of search pairs able to go into the building?”_

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw Bobby turn towards him and sigh, but the omega refused to look at him. They were less than half a mile away now.

 

“Affirmative. I’ve got two teams ready to go.”

 

_“Copy.”_

Bobby snapped the radio speaker back into place on the dashboard and settled in his seat while Dean drove in silence.

 

As soon as they pulled up, Bobby jumped onto the sidewalk and left to find Captain Cain. Dean slid out of his seat less quickly, adjusting his safety gear more thoroughly since he knew he and Benny would definitely be one of the search teams going in.

 

He walked to the other side of the truck to join the rest of the crew filing out, refastening gloves and helmets as they watched the massive cloud of black and white smoke rising in the air to form a thick column of darkness, blocking out the midday sun. Brief flashes of blue light from police cars reflected off surrounding buildings, their officers setting up barricades to stop the pedestrians already beginning to swarm the otherwise quiet sidewalks to watch the building burn.

 

Engine 26 was the only firetruck parked on the south side of the building, soon joined by the larger red Tower 2 engine pulling up beside them, but Dean saw Bobby stomping back to them from where the back end of 23 was visible just around the corner of the west side.

 

“Damn numskulls!” Bobby shouted, and the omega noticed papers waving in the beta’s hands. “Look at this: they highlighted the residents in the most critical positions, as if the entire damn building wasn’t on fire! The whole place is fucking _critical_!” He yelled again, angrily handing off the stapled papers to Dean to gesture wildly to the vertical sea of reds and oranges engulfing the apartment structure.

 

The omega could barely flip the packet’s pages with his thick gloves on, but glimpsed neon yellow lines hastily zigzagging over names and apartment numbers of all the residents. His attention snapped away when he heard another loud voice nearing.

 

“Singer!” Captain Cain stalked towards them, recognizable by his stern facial expression, intimidating even half concealed by his white helmet. “I don’t know what type of party you think this is, but I’m in command here, and I like my firefighters to actually _fight fires_ instead of standing around to gossip! Get your crew moving!”

 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m getting there.” Bobby began. “We’re gonna need two search teams, who will-“

 

“Two search teams,” Cain’s voice cut across, and Dean saw Bobby poorly hide an annoyed eye roll. “The stairway in the east wing seems to be the most clear of fire right now, so that’s going to be our evacuation route. I want one team on the 5th floor, another on the 4th. You’re going to have to ride the ladder up there, since I’ll be putting crews on the lower levels to fight the fire from the inside. This won’t be a pretty rescue, but there are only 12 apartments on each floor, so make it a fast rescue. Fortunately, a good amount of residents appear to have not even been home, since it _was_ a beautiful day out, and we think the majority of people left inside were able to evacuate before the fire broke out. As of right now, the structure seems stable enough; we’ll let you know when we know for certain the east stairs are safe, so depending on who you find, bring them either to the stairs or back to the rescue ladder. Godspeed.”  And with that, Cain left engine 26’s crew and headed back to his own.

 

“Jackass,” Bobby mumbled at the other Captain’s retreating form. “Alright, listen up ya idjits! Winchester, Lafitte; you boys are covering the 5th floor. Jo, Ash; you two are taking the 4th. The rest of you are going to start hooking up every hose we got to every damn fire hydrant we can find!”

 

The rest of the crew began moving about the truck, but Dean turned to Benny, securing and re-securing each other’s air tanks and masks before following Jo, who was already practically skipping towards Tower 2.

 

“Y’all ready for a ride?” A firefighter standing near the large engine asked.

 

Jo jumped up, excited to get going, but Dean yanked her arm back and pulled her towards him, straightening her safety gear and triple checking all her fastenings before letting her arm go.

 

“Now we’re ready.” He smirked at her, trying not to show how uneasy watching her go into fires always made him. God, when was the last time she had even been in a fire? Was she ready for this?

 

“Ugh, thanks _mom_.” She rolled her eyes and climbed up the first few rungs of the ladder.

 

Ash followed her, then Dean and Benny. With a jolt, the white ladder began extending into the air. Looking up as they were brought higher and closer to the blaze, Dean wondered if this was the type of fire all those firemen’s wives feared; if maybe this was the type of fire he should’ve said goodbye to Sam and Cas before going in, just in case.

 

Almost all the windows had already shattered from the heat and force of the fire, so the ladder operator dropped Ash and Jo off at an empty frame and they toppled into the 4th floor. The ladder begin moving again until it found another open window on the 5th, and Dean reached an arm back to give Benny their traditional double fist bump before maneuvering through the window with ease, feet landing with a dull thud a smoky hallway. Benny climbed in after, bumming into Dean from behind as they scanned for any immediate hazards.

 

Well, shit. It wasn’t actually that bad inside. Dean almost snorted; no need to have gotten so dramatic on the ladder. The walls and wooden floors seemed to be at a state of smolder - not in flames like the exterior of the building, but definitely scorched enough to be giving off smoke. Yeah, it was about ten times better in there than outside. The haze of smoke was going to be the biggest pain in their asses, already so thick that the only thing Dean could really make out above waist-level were the tiny red lights blinking from the smoke alarms on the ceiling, so the two firefighters crouched down and put their gloved hands on the wall to feel their way along the surface towards apartment doors.

 

The first one they entered was already wide open – a good sign the residents had already left - and confirmed nobody was home in seconds, breezing in and out through a kitchen living room area, a bathroom, and two bedrooms.

 

The next few doors were closed, but not all were locked. Those that were met the business end of their firefighting axes.

 

The duo quickly skimmed through every apartment - maybe even at record speed -, checking all the usual hiding spots people tended to go during fires; closets, bathrooms, under beds. It was beginning to look like a victimless search and rescue, something that would’ve made their job a thousand times easier, until they came across an elderly woman curled in bathtub with a scarf protecting her mouth and nose from the heavy smoke.

 

Benny immediately held an arm out to stabilize her shaking limbs and quickly led her out of the apartment. Like Dean said, it would’ve been _a thousand times easier_ if they hadn’t found anyone, because now one of them was going to have to take the woman to safety, and the other was going to have to search the remaining apartments alone.

 

Well, the alpha already had the woman’s shoulders wrapped in a strong hold, so Dean began tracing his hand along the wall to find his way to the last two apartments.

 

 _“Dean_ ”, Benny hissed through the radio. “Don’t be stupid; we’re not splitting up!”

 

“Benny,” Dean risked pausing his movements to look over his shoulder at his partner, already halfway down the hall and outline barely visible through the smoke, “you know as well as I do that lady needs oxygen now. Take the ladder, get her outside, and I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. We gotta clear these last few apartments.”

 

“I don’t like this, brother. Haven’t you seen the movies? Splitting up in a fire is how firefighters get killed. I’m staying here with you.”

 

Even through the radio, Dean could hear the disapproving tone of the alpha’s voice. His hand found the knob of a door, quickly gripped it and turned, relieved it clicked open, and Dean entered the apartment, already scanning the living room and kitchen for anyone. “If this was a movie, Lafitte, you’d be a lot more attractive.” He teased, hoping his joking tone didn’t let on how nervous he actually was about being separated. It went against protocol and everything they’d learned at Fire Academy, and yeah, splitting up was how firefighters got killed, but the last two apartments needed to be searched. He just hoped Benny was already retreating out their exit window.

 

“Shut it, Winchester. Hurry up; there’s no point in suffering through your bad jokes if we can’t even see your pretty face out here.”

 

Dean huffed a laugh, then returned his focus to the apartment he was in. The place was like an oven of heat and smoke, but no large flames - just like all the others. When he finished searching the bathroom, he decided it was as empty as the others too.

 

He retraced his steps back into the hazy hallway. Only one more apartment to go. God, when this was finished, he was going to nap for days. He made his way to the last door, twisted the knob and – no luck. The last door was locked.

 

Reaching around to where he’d strapped the axe to his hip, he felt a rumble underneath his feet, and gripped the axe handle tighter. Crap, maybe Benny was right, maybe Dean shouldn’t be staying in the building so long, alone. Especially since there’d been no word over the radio on how the structure’s stability was holding up. 

 

He hurriedly began hacking his way through the locked door with the axe, glad for the air mask protecting his face as the wood splintered and sent chunks flying. He aimed the axe towards the middle of the door until it looked weak enough for him to kick through the rest. The bottom half collapsed under his boot, and he stepped through the frame of the door, still locked in its actual frame.

 

The kitchen and connected living room were both absent of anybody hiding. Bedrooms too, although Dean did have to get his axe out again and use the handle to lift the comforters, beginning to sizzle with small flickering flames, out of the way so he could duck and check for anyone under the beds. The bathroom was in the same state of almost-trashed; cracked mirror and ugly brown scorch marks forming around wherever burning towels had fallen on the cheap linoleum surfaces beginning to melt.

 

Well, guess he didn’t really need to search these apartments after all, seeing how there was nobody home in either one. Kinda anticlimactic, if you asked him. But better safe than find out he was solely responsible for someone’s death and the destruction of their home and family, Dean always said, and he started weaving his way around recliners and out of the apartment. He’d reached the shattered door when the floor under his boots trembled again, followed by another _boom_ from the floors below. Sounded like Dean’s cue to get the fuck out of there; he started hurrying along the hallway walls towards the window he and Benny had entered from, hoping the ladder was already extended and ready to pick him up.

 

 _“This is Jo and Ash,”_ buzzed the radio on his shoulder, making Dean skid to a halt. _“We’re in the south wing of the 4 th floor, and-”_ static covered up the rest of the transmission. The omega felt his heart freeze. It had sounded like Jo’s voice over the radio, but higher pitched, like she was panicked. Fuck. What if they were stuck? Or needed help? Dean was still in the building; he could easily go down one floor and rescue them if – _“part of the ceiling fell, and we can’t lift it or get through to Tower 2’s ladder.”_

Dean took off running, or whatever you’d call moving as fast as you could while wearing 70lbs of gear, towards the east wing stairs, praying they were as clear as Cain had said they were. He needed to get to Ash and Jo. If anything happened to her – he, he didn’t know. He’d never be able to look Ellen in the eye again if he let them get trapped in a burning building. They were family.

 

He rounded a corner, almost stumbling on rubble as he moved quickly. The ‘Exit’ sign that must’ve hung over the staircase’s doors was in a cracked heap on the ground, and the omega nudged the sparking plastic out of his way with a boot, desperate to push open the door and get to the 4th floor.

 

As soon as he saw the staircase, he knew he was fucked. The east wing stairs were definitely _not_ clear of fire, like Cain had promised. Black smoke clouded the stairs like thick smog, and just when Dean thought it was beginning to dissipate, shadows of flames flickering from down below climbed the walls, making Dean throw his body back, using his full force to yank the stair’s door closed again.

 

Shit. Now what? Jo and Ash were still stuck, and nobody had radioed back saying they were on their way to help. Knowing Cain, he’d probably order everyone to concentrate on the fire out on the outside, and call their deaths collateral damage. Hell if Dean was going to let his family become fucking _collateral damage._

 

 _Alright think, Winchester._ Dean started jogging out of the east wing. Okay, okay - Jo had said they were in the south wing. The male omega headed in that direction. If part of the 4th floor’s ceiling had fallen and was large enough to block their exit, maybe part of the floor on Dean’s level was missing, and he could climb down through the hole to save them.

 

The south wing corridor came into sight, and Dean picked up the pace, anxious to see if he could somehow get to Jo from there. Sure enough, there was a hole halfway down the hall, but it looked more like a couple floor boards had gone missing, instead of a gaping hole he could’ve easily slipped his body through. Dean stood back, eying the hole and cautiously pressing his foot against the floor to see how weakened the surrounding wood was.

 

He clicked the radio on his shoulder on and spoke into it, hoping Jo’s radio wouldn’t static out again. “Jo, Ash: this is Winchester. You two still stuck around the ceiling collapse?”

 

_“Affirmative.”_

“Alright, I’m right above you. I’d take a couple steps back if I were you. And watch your heads.”

 

Dean slipped his axe out of its holder again, and twisted his gloves in a tighter grip around the handle as he moved his feet shoulder-width apart and readied himself.

 

_“Dean, if you’re about to do what I think you are-“_

He lifted the axe over his head and swung it downward, hearing the wooden floor splinter beneath it.

 

_“Dean! This is insane, how are- Dean!”_

He swung again, and again, striking the axe over and over again at the floor until enough boards had broken for the hole to be big enough for him. The omega tried glancing down it to see what was below, but everything was hidden by even more smoke.

_“Dean, we don’t have an exit route. Just stay where you are and get out of here.”_  He heard Jo say, but he was already re-hooking his axe to his gear and crouching down near the hole. _“I swear, if you come down here, all three of us will be trapped.”_

“Then we’ll be trapped together; watch out below.” Dean balanced his weight and sat at the edge of the widened hole, put his feet through and slowly lowered the rest of his body until he let himself drop.

 

* * *

 

 

 

He’s not sure why he drove to Station 26, but that’s where Cas ended up.

 

It wasn’t like he could even get inside; the outside doors were passcode protected, and all the alpha could do was uselessly pace back and forth in the back parking lot, running hands through his hair and glancing at Dean’s Impala every couple of minutes. He should’ve thought this through a little better. He had no way of watching the news or staying updated on the fire now, and Cas didn’t know if that was for better or worse.

 

The sound of a door creaking open made him startle mid-step, and he twisted around to see a woman with bright red hair slip out of the station with a tire iron clutched in her hands.

 

“Are you dangerous? Do I need to be calling the police?” She called out, bringing the metal rod above her shoulders like a baseball bat as she approached him.

 

“No,” Cas replied, pulling out his badge. “I am the police. Police Detective Castiel Novak, to be exact. I, uh-” he paused when the woman let out a squeak, and the tire iron clattered to the pavement noisily as she jumped on him.

 

“ _You’re_ Castiel Novak?! I’m Charlie! Did you get my email?” She latched onto his arm and started dragging him towards the back door she’d come from before he could process the immediate change in her demeanor.

 

“What? Do you know the passcode?” The alpha’s brain was struggling to comprehend anything other than _Dean_ and _fire_ , and Cas watched, dazed, as the redhead punched in a number combination and led them inside to the deserted garage bay of the station.

 

“I _am_ the passcode.” She responded, turning her head to beam at him, but his expression must’ve looked confused, because she immediately rushed to add “just kidding! But I designed it. Also every other security feature here.”

 

Cas nodded his almost-understanding, and sat down at the plastic picnic table she stopped at. A TV mounted to the wall was already showing news coverage of the fire, and his eyes focused there, watching the reporter talk again, until he felt a poking sensation in his arm.

 

The alpha turned to see Charlie holding a strangely decorated blue laptop and nudging his side with the entire computer.

 

“My email about assface #1 and butthead #2; did you get it?”

 

“Hm? Oh, you’re cbradbury. I- yes, I did get your- about assbutts-” Cas tried answering, but an explosion, followed by the reporter’s high pitched screams, snapped his attention back to the TV.

 

Cas rested his elbows on the picnic table and put his head in his hands, fingers curling into his hair and tightening with the effort of holding back a whimper. He felt like he was going to be sick thinking about Dean being at that fire, putting himself in danger.

 

“Are you worried about him?”

 

He looked up at Charlie, who was staring at him with an empathetic expression that made Cas slouch even more against the table in despair.

 

“It would be the biggest lie I’ve ever told if I said no.” He responded, returning his head to his hands. 

 

Cas felt the table shift, and peeked through his fingers to see the redhead leaving her seat and moving towards a black box along the wall.

 

“Here; I turned this down ‘cause it was freaking me out, but maybe it’ll help us both calm down a little now since we’re not alone.” She said quietly after twisting a small knob on the box and returning to the table.

 

They sat in relative silence for a few seconds; Cas unsure what was supposed to have happened, before a voice buzzed from the box.

 

_“Engine 28 to 25, is your crew still inside on the ground floor with a main hose line?”_

He perked up. “This is their radio. We can hear what the firefighters are saying to each other at the fire?”

 

_“Affirmative, the inside looks good. Heading back to help on the outside now.”_

“Yup.” Charlie nodded. “Maybe we’ll hear Dean or Bobby or someone else from 26 talk. It beats listening to that British chick bitch about how the heat’s making her hair frizz on the news.”

 

He looked at the TV, thankfully absent of ‘that British chick’ reporter and instead showing an aerial view of the progress firefighters were making on extinguishing the large building from the news helicopter’s camera.

 

“Have you heard them speak recently?”

 

“No,” the omega looked regretful. “I turned the volume off a while ago. It was making me too antsy, getting a play by play of the entire thing. But I did hear Dean and Benny talking to each other inside the fire. And Bobby was yelling at someone right before I turned it off, but…” She trailed off, looking at the table in thought before perking up again. “Do you think this is one of the arsonist’s fires?”

 

“No,” he answered, “I’m a detective on the case; I would have been notified if the Police Department thought it was.”

 

She nodded in understanding. “Well, I don’t think you should worry about Dean inside there then. I mean, you should worry! Obviously! The building’s on fire! But Dean’s been a firefighter for a while, and he’s trained enough to know what he’s doing inside there. So like, worry, but don’t…” Charlie finished talking with a strained expression on her face that Castiel wasn’t sure how to appropriately respond to.

 

Apparently she took his silence for confusion, which he supposed it was, and again rushed to backtrack her words. “Sorry- bad wording. But your scent is just like, super stressed, and it’s making me short-circuit and just - think of it like LOTR. The fire is Mordor and Dean is – you still look confused, I haven’t even finished my metaphor yet, why do you still look confused?”

 

Cas’ mouth opened and closed. He was uncertain of what ‘LOTR’ and ‘Mordor’ were, and wished Dean was there to explain those terms to him in the context of pop culture. “I don’t understand those references.”

 

“You don’t – _what_?” Charlie gaped at him for a moment, then abruptly stood up and exited the bays.

 

Castiel sat at the picnic table, alone in the empty engine garage, and looked around for any clue for what had just occurred. Was he expected to follow her? Nothing in her body language had implied he should. Perhaps he had said something wrong?

 

Just as he began formulating an apology for the unknown offense, footsteps began echoing from behind a door, and the redhead burst out with a gray messenger bag in hand.

 

“I cannot believe you don’t know _Lord of the Rings_ ,” she said, reseating herself at the table and scooting towards the alpha as she dug through the bag. “How does Dean even like you? Don’t answer that!” She looked up at him with wide eyes and a serious expression. “It was a joke! Dean’s in love with you. But don’t tell him I said that.”

 

The alpha’s body went into disarray. His first reaction to the thought of Dean not liking him anymore made his already-queasy stomach drop out from under him. Then, quickly followed by the (albeit, second-hand) admission of Dean’s love, forcing Cas to tamp down on heart wanting to soar in the opposite direction - in case Charlie was exaggerating Dean’s emotions - resulting in a choking sensation trying to hold together his near-bursting body.

 

“Oh God, you look like you’re about to get sick. Want a bucket?”

 

He looked up at Charlie’s voice, and managed to shake his head once. The redhead didn’t look convinced, so he made himself take deep breaths to calm the riots inside himself before reaffirming his nonverbal response. “No, thank you.”

 

“If you say so. Closest trash can is by the TV though, just in case. But until then, sit back and relax while I look for- ah! Found it!” She grinned, hand emerging from her bag with a slim DVD case. “My emergency copy of _The Fellowship of the Ring._ It’s time to get educated, Cas.”

 

He wasn’t sure he wanted to question what she’d meant by ‘ _emergency_ copy’, implying she had more than one, so he silently watched her put the disk in her laptop and press play.

 

Maybe if he’d known the movie was three hours long, Cas would’ve been a little more resistant to watching it, although admittedly, he paid more attention to Charlie rambling over the actors and telling stories about her and Dean ‘Live Action Role Playing’ together than he did the actual movie.

 

It was an adequate distraction, he supposed, especially since the news channel had begun switching to different breaking news stories. Radio traffic from the firefighters had also slowed, which Charlie had said was a good thing, since it probably meant they were almost finished, but Cas didn’t think he’d ever be comfortably satisfied until he saw Dean or heard his voice.

 

The movie’s end credits had just begun rolling when loud sirens started blaring through the station, making them both jump. Even after lowering the radio’s volume for the movie, the dispatcher’s voice came out of the speaker system clearly.

 

_16:22_

_Company 26, second call; Rescue 30, also second call_

_Traffic Crash_

_Intersection of Sunrise Ln. and Walnut Ave., Sioux Falls_

_Red Toyota Prius versus a Blue Subaru Forester. Caller says both drivers have gotten out of their vehicles. No entrapment, unknown injuries_

“Uh oh,” Cas turned towards Charlie as she spoke. “Not sure how 26 is gonna be able to answer that if they’re still at the fire.”

 

The alpha listened patiently; police dispatch was a little different from fire and rescue dispatch, and he was unfamiliar with the process Charlie seemed to be expecting to be disrupted.

 

_“Ambulance 32 responding.”_

_Ambulance 32 responding, 16:23_

A soft humming sound was coming from the redhead, and he watched her distractedly put away her laptop and walk over to the radio.

 

_“Medic Engine 26 to Apple Hill command.”_

“Oh! There’s Bobby,” she grinned, twisting the volume knob up.

 

_“Command to 26, go ahead.”_

_“We have a pending call somewhere else, do you still need us here?”_

_“No, go ahead and respond. Fire’s out; we don’t need everybody for clean up.”_

 

_“Copy, Medic Engine 26 clear from Apple Hill; responding to traffic crash.”_

_Medic Engine 26 responding to traffic crash, 16:24_

“What does that mean?” Cas asked, unsure of the radio transmissions or why Charlie was currently doing a strange flailing jig of some sort.

 

“It means they’re leaving the fire! And-”

 

_“Medic Engine 26 to Ambulance 32, be advised that our response time will be longer than usual since we’re responding from farther away.”_

_“32 to 26, copy.”_

“And going to a traffic crash?” The alpha finished for her, still seated at the table.

 

“Yeah, but at least that’s a little safer than a burning building, right? I mean, the cars have already crashed, so…”

 

As basic as that logic was, Castiel found himself agreeing; if Dean had to be away from him, he’d rather it be at a car collision than a fire.

 

_“Ambulance 32 on location. 26, this just looks like a small fender-bender; no major damage to either vehicle and both drivers look like they’re going to be patient refusals, so you can go back in service.”_

_Ambulance 32 on location, Medic Engine 26 cancelled, 16:28_

Does that mean-? Cas looked at Charlie to see if her reaction could help him understand what had happened, but she appeared concentrated on the contents of a Dorito’s bag, while humming to herself.

 

_“Medic Engine 26 clear from the call; going back in service.”_

Castiel shifted in his seat, already unable to help the anxious twitches of his fingers, waiting for Dean to come back. Charlie still seemed unaffected, now resuming her previous twirling dance to an imaginary rhythm that he didn’t want to interrupt.

 

The alpha glanced around the garage in silence, noting various tools and gear hanging along the walls. Now that the situation was less dire, Cas felt the constricting grip around his heart loosen, and his stomach contents less volatile.

 

He hadn’t noticed the loud rumble of the diesel engine approaching until the bay doors opened with a shudder, and the large red firetruck began reversing into its parking spot in the garage. As soon as the engine winded down, doors along the side of it started unlatching and opening; he recognized Bobby as the first out, already tossing his helmet into a wide locker. Two men Cas immediately identified as alphas jumped off next; one in a dirty suit, with a broad chest and a trimmed beard, appeared to be smirking at him, while the other, with dark skin and a much cleaner uniform, glared at him. The blonde bartender from the Roadhouse followed out of the truck next, her usually tan uniform almost completely black from soot. Another man, with a haircut Castiel thought had gone out of style in the 1980s, began stripping off an equally as dirty uniform and complaining about beer beside her.

 

More crew members began exiting Engine 26, milling around while they stripped off their gear and smelling of exhaustion. Panic welled up in Cas when he wasn’t able to spot Dean among the firefighters, and he stood up from the table to – to what? Scan the firefighters again, as if his eyes wouldn’t have immediately sought out the green eyed man already?

 

The alpha’s fists clench, release, and then re-clench in nerves  (although terror might’ve been a better description), only relaxing again when a firefighter walks around the back of the engine from the other side.

 

His uniform was almost entirely black, no hint of the beige color it should’ve been, and an oxygen mask was clipped to his shoulder. A dirty helmet hung from one hand, while Dean ran his other one through hair.

 

It was like a flood went through him, of literal relief and joy and _safe,_ and Cas started walking towards him; Dean was gazing intently at the ground, apparently not having noticed Castiel yet, but the alpha kept going, dodging between Dean’s crew members laughing and undressing in order to reach him.

 

The omega looked up at the very last moment, his eyes widening right as Cas threw his arms around him and pulled Dean against him.

 

Warm arms wrap around Castiel’s back at once, returning the hug, and the alpha nuzzles his face into Dean’s neck to hold him tighter.

 

“Cas, buddy?” Hands began stroking up and down his back. “What are you doing here, man?”

 

All Cas could do is shake his head and squeeze his eyes tight, still so overcome with-with _everything_ to respond verbally.

 

“C’mon, let’s… I got you Cas, let’s go somewhere else, alright?” The omega spoke into Cas’ ear, and he reluctantly let go of the firefighter.

 

Dean squatted to pick his helmet off the ground – Castiel hadn’t noticed it’d been dropped – and led them through the bays, blushing and mumbling “shut up” to the bearded alpha Cas had seen earlier when the other man smirked again at them.  

 

They exited the bays through the doorway Charlie had used earlier, walked past a staircase and went through another door, bringing them into a small hallway.

 

“What are you doing here, Cas? Are you okay?” Dean repeated, turning to look at Castiel with furrowed brows and a concerned expression.

 

Again, words seemed to have left the alpha, and he went with the first instinctual thought that ran through his mind, and slammed Dean against the wall, pinning the omega there with his arms and hips.

 

“Cas-?”

 

He cut off Dean’s words by pressing his lips to the other man’s, desperate for contact with the omega he’d spent the last four hours worrying over now that he knew Dean was safe.

 

Dean immediately responded, opening his mouth to Cas and gripping the alpha closer by his arms. A moan escaped the omega the moment their tongues touched, and started fighting back against Cas’ battle for dominance.

 

Cas’ alpha wouldn’t have that – so he slotted a leg in between Dean’s and rutted against him.  

 

“Shit, Cas,” Dean broke away to groan. “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you excited to see me?”

 

He was teasing. His omega shouldn’t have time to tease him right now. “I’m excited to see you.” He growled, before latching onto Dean’s neck and sucking a mark below his jaw, tasting the ash covering Dean’s entire body right now.

 

“ _Oh,_ Cas, I-” Dean gasped, sliding his hands from Cas’ arms to wrap themselves around the alpha’s waist.

 

As much as the noise pleased Castiel, he heard a faint _click_ that had him turning his head away, and he saw the dark skinned alpha from before standing behind them in the doorframe they had come through.

 

The other fireman’s eyes dropped to the ground quickly, but part of Cas still wanted to growl at the other alpha for interrupting – to make sure he kept away from Dean – but Castiel regained his senses in time to hold himself back; it would be awkward for Dean to work with that crewmate afterwards if Cas were to alpha-posture in front of him.

 

Dean was silent, but Cas kept his eyes on the alpha as the other man began to stalk past them, and watched him until he’d reached the end of the hallway and left through another doorway.

 

Cas turned to Dean then, and saw the omega’s head tilted back against the wall with his green eyes trained on Cas.

 

“Maybe- maybe we shouldn’t do this here.” He breathed heavily, and Cas nodded and took a step back.

 

“Um, maybe later?” The alpha hesitantly questions. He’d be fine if Dean said no, he would respect that, but there were a lot of unsettled emotions still floating inside Cas from watching the fire on TV and knowing Dean was there.

 

“You horndog, you.” Dean said, voice taking on the same teasing lilt he’d used minutes ago. “Sure thing, Cas. I finish covering for my friend whenever they wrap up their kid’s birthday party, and then they’re coming in and finishing out the rest of their shift. So I should be getting out of here a little after dinner time. I could stop by your apartment on my way home?”

 

Cas blinked. He hadn’t expected Dean to want to see him again so soon, but he didn’t have it in him to argue, so he nodded.  “Yes, that should be fine. I’ll text you my address.”

 

“Great.” Dean smiled and quickly pressed his lips against Castiel’s again. “See you then.”

 

Cas nodded, lips tingling, and broke away from Dean, taking a few steps back until he saw Dean’s face scrunch up in an unknown emotion.

  
“Shit, Cas. I, uh, kinda ruined your suit there.”

 

Sure enough, when the alpha looked down, his detective suit was dusted and stained with soot from pressing Dean against the wall, still in his heavy, dirty firefighting uniform.

 

“No worries, Dean. I can have it dry cleaned.” He said, looking back up at the omega.

 

“Right. Well, guess I’ll see you in a few hours.” Dean said, beginning to look Cas’ body up and down with a slow smile.

 

“Of course. I’ll see you soon.” Cas replied, self-consciously adjusting himself in his pants under Dean’s gaze, and then walked out back the way they had come.

 

When he got back into the bays, it was nearly absent of all the firefighters it had held minutes ago, but he politely nodded to those remaining that made eye contact with him.

 

Charlie was waiting for him by the exit, smirking at the state of his clothes. A blush rose up in his cheeks and he hesitantly nodded farewell to her too, but she yanked his body into a tight hug, pinning his arms to his sides so he was unable to do anything but stand there or return it.

 

“Thank you for your help today, and everything you’ve done to assist the arsonist case so far.” He managed to speak out.

 

She let go with a bright smile on her face. “Anytime, Castiel. Happy to help out for the cause.”

 

With that, Castiel walked past her, turning to stare, confused, when he felt a hand slap his rear, and saw her walking further away into the bays.

 

He shut the door to the station, now outside, and felt his blush take over his entire face; for Charlie knowing what was going on between him and Dean, for being interrupted by one of Dean’s coworkers in the hallway, for everything he felt for the gorgeous omega, and the tangible relief he had felt when he saw Dean walk around the back of the engine.

 

Cas unlocked his car and slid into the driver seat, then sat there for a moment simply processing everything that had happened that day, before realizing that his apartment was an absolute mess that he’d have to clean before Dean finished work and stopped by. He’d never gotten his car started faster.

 

* * *

 

 

Cas leaned against the countertop next to his fridge, eating a bowl of cold cereal while he waited for Dean. The omega had promised he’d stop by Cas’ apartment once he got off shift, but it was currently – Cas twisted his body to look at the clock on his oven – almost 10 o’clock at night. Surely the firefighter Dean was substituting for would have wrapped up their young child’s birthday party by now, although Castiel was fairly uninformed about the changes of youth culture; maybe it was customary for a four year old’s birthday party to last this late.

 

His front door had been unlocked hours ago in preparation for Dean’s arrival, and in that time Cas had showered, ran his dishwasher, vacuumed, (wishfully) cleaned the clothes off the floor of his bedroom, and was now chasing the dregs of his second dinner around the bowl with his spoon. It was probably the calmest he’d been all day; ever since he’d seen Dean’s engine on TV, restless energy had kept him wide-awake and moving.

 

Once Dean got there, Cas was positive all the anxious feelings he was experiencing would leave him. It was just – the thought of Dean in danger, of losing Dean was… It had left Castiel shaken. That was the only description for the ache, the potential for emptiness, that had, still did, plague him. Even now, his free hand was tapping out an uneasy rhythm against the edge of the sink as his other poured the remaining milk from his cereal down the drain.

 

A creak made the alpha jump and spin around, and he looked across his living space to see Dean shutting the apartment’s front door, still wearing the uniform sweatpants and t-shirt from earlier.

 

“Hello, Dean.” He sighed out, feeling a small smile twitch on his lips at the sight of the omega in his home. In one piece. Alive. Here.

 

Dean bent to drop his duffel bag to the floor, eyes already on Castiel, and started crossing the apartment in quick, long strides.

 

“Hiya, Cas.” A smirk slid across Dean’s face, which was _not_ the expression Cas expected after their emotionally exhausting day but still felt pinned to the counter behind him by the intensity of it, his heart beginning to stutter every step closer Dean took.

 

All that jittery energy he had just seconds before – gone. It was more of a paralyzing trance of confused anticipation now, watching Dean shorten the distance between them; frozen, frozen until the firefighter reached out to cup his jaw and crashed their mouths together.

 

Immediately, Castiel responded, opening his mouth to Dean’s and tangling a hand in the omega’s hair to drag him closer. His back hit the counter with a grunt, digging into his lower back as the firefighter crowded over him and tilted his hips, making Cas groan into the kiss at the feeling of Dean’s half hard member pressing against him.

 

It was almost like a flip was switched then, short- circuiting Castiel’s brain as the alpha side of him rumbled approval deep in his chest. Cas found himself pivoting on the spot to slam Dean’s back against the fridge. The firefighter breathlessly smirked at the change of position, and Cas bent forward to wipe his snarky omega’s expression away by briefly kissing Dean’s already swollen lips, before moving to trail kisses along his jaw instead, then down the freckled column of the firefighter’s neck, sucking and lightly nipping with his teeth as Dean gapsed and wrapped his arms around Castiel’s middle, pulling the alpha’s body impossibly closer and rocking their hips together.

 

“Cas,” Dean quietly moaned, the sound going straight to Castiel’s rapidly hardening cock.

 

“Yes, Dean?” He murmured, untucking the omega’s shirt and slipping his hands underneath to find the warm skin of Dean’s back.

 

“Cas, we gotta…” Dean breathed, deep voice sounding so thoroughly debauched that Castiel pressed his lips to the other man’s again, determined to coax out more noises. “Mm – been thinking about this since you left the station… Bedroom.” Dean managed to say between kisses. “Cas, c’mon.” This time the omega lightly pushed Cas back a step, far enough that some mental faculties returned to the alpha.

 

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Cas panted, dazedly taking in the flushed state of Dean’s face and black pupils blown wide, nearly drowning out the green.

 

“Bedroom, Cas. Where’s your bedroom?” Dean huffed a laugh, and even more warmth flooded Castiel’s body at the small sound of amusement.

 

“Of course, Dean.” The alpha nodded, then paused.  “Do you, um-” Cas tried to start, unsure where he was trying to finish, but was interrupted by Dean stepping forward, fingers finding their way through Cas’ belt loops and snagging the alpha back towards him. “Do you think this-this is, _oh_ , too early in our relationship to be engaging in?”

 

“What? Sex?” The omega seemed disoriented, slipping his hands under Cas’ t-shirt and yanking it over the alpha’s head and discarding it onto the kitchen floor.

 

“Yes, do you think having sex now is rushing our-” Cas tried repeating, admittedly feeling his own thoughts reducing themselves to nothing as rough hands ran over his arms and down his stomach, landing on the edge of his jeans as Dean began leaving open mouthed kisses along his neck.

 

“’Course not.” Dean answered, fingers undoing Cas’ belt and tugging the leather through the belt loops. “We’re following the sex-on-the-third-date rule here, Cas,” the omega looked up to grin. “First date was at the Roadhouse, second one was pretending to be a detective at the hospital, and the third is happening right now.”

 

“It’s been less than two days, Dean.” The traitorous part of Castiel’s brain said, even as he led the omega backwards towards his bedroom, pulling off Dean’s Engine 26 shirt and tossing it to join his on the floor.

 

“Mm,” Dean hummed, now looking down and focusing on unbuttoning and unzipping Castiel’s jeans, and the alpha felt his jeans slip low on his hips, only to be tugged all the way down by Dean. “No it hasn’t. I’ve wanted this since I first saw you at that arson fire; that means I’ve been waiting over a month for you. You gonna make me wait any longer, _alpha_?”

 

A growl ripped itself out of Castiel.

 

No. God, no. He wouldn’t make his omega wait any longer.

 

Stepping out of his jeans pooled on the floor, the alpha bent to hook an arm around Dean’s back and another under his knees, sweeping the omega off his feet, ignoring the squeaked “dammit, Cas!”, and carrying him bridal style the remaining distance into the bedroom and depositing the firefighter at the foot of the bed.

 

Dean rolled onto his back, eyes wide with surprise before a wide smile stretched over his face, accompanied by a short laugh. “Shit, Cas. Got a kink for being called alpha that I should know about?”

 

“This isn’t funny, Dean.” Cas growled again, fighting his own smile as he stripped off his own boxers, leaving his cock completely exposed and curving towards his stomach, and tossed them to the side of the room.

 

Dean started scooting up towards the bed’s center as the alpha climbed on. Hands reached for Castiel, and he let himself be pulled into another needy kiss. Heat bloomed in his chest at the feeling of Dean still grinning against his lips.

 

The alpha settled himself between Dean’s legs and rolled his hips forward, but the fabric of the sweatpants Dean still wore provided an unwelcome barrier between Cas’ naked cock and the one tenting the front of the uniform. Cas slipped his hands under the elastic waistband of the pants and the boxers underneath until he gripped Dean’s ass. He gave a firm squeeze, before scooting back towards the foot of the bed and tracing his hands down the muscled backs of the omega’s thighs and calves, pulling the two remaining layers of clothing down with the same movement.

 

The smell of Dean’s slick immediately filled the air, smelling of pure, raw honey, and Castiel squeezed his eyes shut, falling forward over Dean’s stomach with a groan.

 

Everything about it screamed mate – _his_. Oh, it was _so-_

 

Without warning, the alpha grabbed the firefighter’s hips tight enough to bruise and pulled them close enough for Cas to duck his head and swipe the flat of his tongue over Dean’s hole. Oh _God_ , the _taste_ – even sweeter than the smell, and Castiel couldn’t help grabbing the omega’s ass again and spreading his cheeks wider, trying to lap up as much of the slick already dripping out as possible.

 

Dean’s back shot off the bed, arching with a surprised shout of Castiel’s name, and then thick fingers tangled themselves in the alpha’s dark hair, gripping the strands tighter when Cas’ tongue circled the omega’s wet hole again before pushing past the rim. A single finger joined his tongue, feeling the warm center of Dean, and then a second one, working to stretch the rim of the omega. His fingers brushed over the small bundle of nerves inside Dean, making the omega gasp. Cas withdrew his fingers, only to plunge them back inside to rub more forcefully against Dean’s prostrate, until Dean let out a howling noise that made Castiel pull back completely.

 

“Dean? Are you okay?”

 

The firefighter’s hands still intertwined in the alpha’s hair flexed, then ungracefully shoved Cas’ head back towards his ass, deeper between the smooth, freckled legs. Castiel let himself be manhandled, eagerly returning his tongue to Dean’s hole.

 

“Peachy, Cas; just _nngh_  peachy.” Dean panted.

 

Castiel smirked, and pushed his fingers back in, this time adding a third and stroking the inside walls, purposefully tracing around Dean’s prostrate.

 

“Cas- Cas c’mon. Need you up here,” Dean whimpered, and the alpha swiped one last drag of his tongue over the omega’s hole before crawling to fully align his body with Dean’s. “Changed my mind,” the omega slurred, “no more teasing.”

 

“Is that so?” Castiel mocked, smirking again as Dean squirmed under his hands. “What do you want me to do now, Dean?”

 

“What do _you_ want?” The omega countered, chest heaving with shallow panting and looking so God damn gorgeous that Castiel thought he was about to burst.

 

“I think that if you haven’t noticed what I wanted at this point, I’d be offended.” Cas said, punctuating his reply with a slow grind of his thick erection against the omega.

 

Dean groaned, and then suddenly Cas found himself flipped over, so that he was the one lying on his back in the middle of the bed, blinking at the change of position as Dean resettled himself on top with his thighs straddling the alpha.

 

Dean’s breathless smirk above him was stunning, so much so that Castiel found him staring openly at the happiness radiating from the omega, unware to what was happening around him until a hand wrapped around the base of his cock.

 

His breathing hitched, and he snapped back to reality just in time to see Dean guide the alpha’s cock back towards his hole, and sink down on it in one fell glide.

 

Cas threw his head back against the pillow and groaned, feeling the slick heat of Dean clenching around him. His breathing came in short bursts, and he refocused on the omega’s form above him; Dean’s head tipped forward against his chest, mouth hung open in a silent moan.

 

“Dean… _Dean...”_ The alpha whined, hands scrambling for purchase around the omega’s hips, shifting his own in small movements in desperate search of friction.

 

“Got’cha. I gotcha, babe.” Dean mumbled, eyes shut in concentration. “Just give me a – _Jesus_ ; you’re bigger than you look.”

 

Castiel’s alpha preened in approval inside of him, and he watched Dean’s eyes began blinking open, green eyes finding his blue ones, before the omega lifted himself up and dropped back down, punching a moan out of both of them.

 

Cas’ eyes remained locked with Dean’s, watching with complete adoration as he slowly began riding the alpha and, and _fuck_.

 

Castiel groaned and felt his eyelids start fluttering at the sight and sensation of Dean fucking himself down on the alpha’s cock.

 

The alpha’s hands left Dean’s hips to try tracing up the smooth muscles of Dean’s back, but the omega smacked his arms away and lifted them above Cas’ head, pressing them into the pillows beside the alpha; the new change of angle making the firefighter grunt as his speed started picking up.

 

The new position also made it easier to Cas to lift his head and seek out Dean’s pink, swollen lips, and the omega immediately responded, crashing their mouths together as he continued moving.

 

Cas planted his feet flat on the bed, bending his knees and giving him the leverage to thrust up into Dean’s downward glide, earning him an approving groan from the omega above him.

 

Too soon, Dean’s hips began to stutter, and the omega released his grip around one of Castiel’s wrists, and the alpha immediately reached between their bodies to wrap his hand around Dean’s swollen cock, feeling the wetness from the precome that’d already leaked out and using it to ease the jacking motion of his hand, moving in quick time with each upward thrust of his hips.

 

The alpha rolled them over, pushing Dean against the mattress and picking up his own pace, pounding into the omega now and swallowing Dean’s moans with another burning kiss.

 

Cas could feel the knot beginning to swell at the bottom of his erection, catching on the rim of Dean’s hole; the tugging sensation making him want to scream out or bite, but he kept moving. Kept drawing out noises from Dean, until he felt Dean’s hole clench around his knot, and the omega broke from their kiss to cry into Cas’ shoulder.

 

“ _Casss,_ oh G-”

 

Wetness landed on Cas’ hand as the omega came, and Cas felt his knot jump to inflate, locking them together. With a groan, he felt forward onto Dean, muffling his own shout as his release left him.

 

They stayed like, with Cas collapsed over the firefighter, both panting, until the stickiness of Dean’s come between their stomachs began drying and becoming uncomfortable.

 

Dean’s eyes were closed, but he had a tiny blissful smile on his face as he cradled Cas’ body to his. The alpha moved gently, slow enough so as to not disturb stunning man – who was probably already asleep after his exhausting day - , and cleaned away the come between them, then settled down in Dean’s arms again, scenting the contentment radiating from the omega mix with his own.

 

Cas let his own eyes close and laid his head on Dean’s chest, right over his heartbeat. And Castiel felt his own smile spread over his face as he heard each thump of Dean’s pulse; a sound he never wanted to be without again.

 


	7. The One Where There's a Fire: Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how last chapter I said this one would be up within two weeks...  
> Remember how two chapters ago I said something bad was coming up...
> 
> Thanks for everyone still reading, even after such a long delay in updates!!

Dean woke surrounded by the familiar scent of thunderstorms and pie, which (he may be a bit biased) was probably the best smell in the history of best smells to wake up to. He rolled over to snuggle closer to the alpha, frowning and slowly blinking his eyes open when he got a face-full of pillow instead of the smooth skin he was expecting.

 

In fact - as Dean started patting the body shaped indentation in the sheets - there was barely any warmth left on Cas’ side of the bed at all.

 

Well, it’s not like Cas would’ve left the omega alone in his apartment. That’d be like, the stupidest one night stand in the history of sex. Not that this _was_ a one night stand – no, this was the start of… of maybe a relationship. Or whatever. Whatever Cas wanted it to be, Dean huffed. It didn’t matter to him.

 

Although speaking of, he should probably find the alpha. As much as Dean would’ve loved to spend the rest of the day in bed, there wasn’t much point to it if he spent it alone.

 

Almost on cue, someone – hopefully Cas -  made a loud metal clanking noise outside the closed bedroom door, and the omega rolled off the mattress to pull on his old boxers and station sweatpants. Dean tiptoed down a short hallway, following the sound, and came to a stop at the entrance to the kitchen.

 

The detective was squatting with his back to Dean, fumbling with a few pots and pans that must’ve fallen off the counter, and the omega let himself admire the view of strong, tan muscles he’d felt last night in Cas’ back and shoulders as they stretched and flexed to collect the cookware off the floor.

 

“Need any help?” Dean offered, trying to be polite, although not completely willing to leave his perfect vantage point of the alpha moving around in nothing but a pair of plain white boxers.

 

Cas spun to face him, and Dean smirked at the wide blue eyes. “I’m sorry, did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet, but…”

 

“Nah, Cas, you’re good. I was already awake when you dropped your pans.” The omega assured, before watching Cas’ eyes wander over to the rest of the counter space that Dean had (understandably) been too distracted to notice until now. “Although, apparently I slept through the bomb that went off in here. The hell happened, Cas?”

 

“It is quite the mess, isn’t it?” Cas shyly examined the floorboards under his bare feet with a pink tint to his cheeks. “I made French toast. At least, I tried making French toast, but I’m afraid I don’t really know how. I figured it would be, ah, nice for you to wake up to.”

 

“Oh, c’mon. I’m sure your toast ain’t all bad.” Dean smiled, walking over and maneuvering a stack of stained mixing bowls and a pile of sticky spoons in order to reach the plate stacked with finished toast, and popped a slice into his mouth with a wink.

 

Oh God. That was- that was- no. Dean immediately tried to school his face into a neutral expression, hoping to hide his struggle to swallow the charcoal-disguised-as-toast from the alpha, and ended with a burnt tasting cough.

 

“Well, that was, uh,” The omega saw Cas’ face fall when he coughed again, and stepped over a stray pan to pull the detective into a comforting hug, feeling warm skin against his own bare chest. “Hey, it’s alright. Everyone knows waffles are way more awesome than French toast anyway. Maybe just – just leave the morning after cooking to me next time.” He said, releasing Cas from the embrace with a pat to the shoulder.

 

“Of course, Dean. Next time, you’ll cook.” Cas nodded with a tiny smile.

 

“Sounds good. Now let’s go; we’ve got just enough time to hit Biggerson’s before I gotta be back at the station for my next shift.” Dean said, already heading back towards Cas’ room to help himself to some of the alpha’s clean clothes.

 

“Your what?”

 

Cas was still standing in the kitchen when Dean turned, his tan shoulder’s slumped with that kicked puppy look the omega couldn’t stand.

 

“My shift?”

 

“You’re working again today? You worked yesterday.” Cas said, and dammit, he looked so freaking pitiful that Dean walked right back and wrapped the man up in another tight squeeze.

 

“Yeah, but yesterday I was just helping out a friend by covering their shift for a few hours, out of the goodness of my heart.” Dean tried to joke lightly. “Today is my assigned shift. It’s a short one though, only 24 hours. I’ll be done before you even start to miss me.”

 

“Of course, your heart is very good.” The alpha mumbled into Dean’s bare shoulder, and the firefighter paused as Cas broke away from the hug.

 

“Right. Um, thanks. Now, c’mon, Cas, Biggerson’s stops serving breakfast after 11, and we gotta get there before the hungover crowd swarms the place.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Alrighty now, ma’am. If you’re absolutely certain you don’t want to go to the hospital, that’s fine, but don’t hesitate to call 911 again if you start having trouble breathing again or if it gets worse. We’ll be more than happy to come right back.” Garth said behind them, and Dean heard the ambulance driver shut their patient’s front door as Jo snickered beside him.

 

“20 bucks say Garth’s mate would throw a jealous fit if she ever heard how nice Garth speaks to this old lady.”

 

Ed and Harry chuckled in front of them as the firefighters crossed the patient’s yard to return to Engine 26, emergency lights still flashing where it was parked in the street next to the ambulance.

 

“Of course I’m going to be nice to my patients,” the lanky beta defended with a smile. “She reminds me of my grandma.”

 

Dean didn’t hear Jo’s response while he climbed back into his driver’s seat, but looked up in time to wave goodbye to Garth and the ambulance’s EMT as they both disappeared into the ambulance in front of them.

 

“ _Ambulance 34 clear from the call.”_

“Quit your wavin’ boy, and get me back to the station so I can get back in bed.” Bobby said, already leaning his head against the passenger side window with his eyes closed.

 

“Your wish is my command, old man.” Dean teased, hearing the tired Captain grunt in annoyance before he picked up the radio mic. “Medic Engine 26 clear from the call, going back in service.”

 

_Medic Engine 26, Ambulance 34, 2:24_

The omega flipped the emergency lights off and shifted the firetruck into drive, leaving behind the dark street in favor of the warmth and comfort of the station’s bunkbeds. As soon as he’d thrown 26 in park and closed the bay door behind it, almost all the firefighters hopped off and fled upstairs to try to fall back asleep.

 

Dean turned off the engine with a sigh, and sighed again when he saw he was literally the only person left in the garage bay as he sat at the picnic table.  

 

Unlike the other firefighters, Dean was wide awake. He’d gotten more sleep than he was used to at Cas’ the night before, and felt better rested right now than he had in ages.

 

But now he had nothing to do. Everybody else was back in their bunks. If Benny was on shift, he probably could’ve dragged the big alpha out to play Xbox with, but his partner wasn’t likely to even respond to Dean’s texts while at home, asleep in his own bed. And it wasn’t like Dean could text Sammy right now. Or Cas.

 

The omega pulled out his phone and scrolled through his most recent messages.

**Text from Joanna Beth 1:45AM:**

**Nvm didnt c u already in top bunk**

**Text from Joanna Beth 1:43AM:**

**B4 u come 2 bunks bring me a xtra blanket. V cold**

Dean passed over those and settled on the next one, staring at it a little longer than necessary.

 

**Text from Cas 1:12AM:**

**Goodnight, be safe :)**  

 

No, the detective was definitely asleep by now, and despite how much Dean may want to, he wasn’t going to text back and wake Cas up just to talk. Him and his dorky smiley emojis.

 

The omega’s fingers continued gliding over his phone, closing the texts and opening his emails, before switching back and rereading his and Cas’ earlier texts just for the hell of it. Also, because apparently night shifts turned Dean into a pining teenage girl, desperate to feel closer to the blue eyed detective somehow, since he couldn’t be curled up in bed with Cas right now.

 

_ARRROOOGAH. ARROOOOGAAH._

Crap. Again?

 

Dean checked his watch, and – shit. He just spent 20 whole minutes pathetically rereading old texts. Jesus, that couldn’t be healthy.

 

_02:56_

_Company 26, Company 23 dual due response, Tower 1, Rescue 30_

_Structure Fire_

_1224 Sparks St., Sioux Falls_

_Three story apartment building. Multiple callers have called in to report this incident, most are advising that flames appear to be isolated to one individual unit on the second floor, and that the majority of residents have already evacuated. Building manager is on location to provide information to EMS personnel upon arrival_

 

The omega slid his phone into his pocket and stood from the picnic table, heading towards the racks of gear to start stepping into his boots, right as Ed and Harry burst through the door from the stairwell. Dean snapped his suspenders over his shoulders and rolled his eyes at the two betas shoving and racing each other to their gear.

 

“Dean!”

 

He turned from the betas to see Jo pushing open the door, and was hit with a nose-full of terrified omega as she ran into the bays. Her bed head was sticking up all over the place, and her eyes were wide and staring straight at him. Dean squinted at her, half confused and half concerned at what had her so off, watching as she began throwing on her thick gear in record time.

 

_“Medic Engine 23 responding.”_

_Medic Engine 23 responding, 2:57_

“ _Dean_! Is that the address of-” she seemed to choke back the rest of her question with a stricken expression twisting her face.

 

The address? Dean opened his mouth to ask what she was talking about, when Bobby walked in.

 

“Boy, quit dicking around and get that truck up and running! Sioux Falls don’t pay you to get all geared up just to stand there and look pretty!”

 

Dean shot one last worried look at Jo before rounding the back of the truck, her expression still bugging the fuck out of him.

 

The address of what? He put his helmet on and climbed into his driver’s seat, turning the keys in the ignition and starting the engine. Why did Jo think he’d recognize the address? Well, he _did_ recognize it, but only ‘cause it was within walking distance of the station and he’d spent years running calls in this section of the city.

 

“Medic Engine 26 responding.”

 

_Medic Engine 26 responding, 02:58_

 

Dean turned to see Bobby hooking the radio mic back onto the central control panel and already buckling himself in, did a quick scan of his side mirrors to make sure everybody was inside, then pulled out of the station and onto the street, flipping the switches for the emergency lights.

 

_“Ambulance 34 responding.”_

_“Tower 1, also responding.”_

_Ambulance 34, Tower 1 3:00_

 

The engine made a right turn and Bobby mumbled something about taking the next left, but nothing familiar was jumping out to Dean. They hung a left, turning onto Sparks St. and seeing  the flashing lights from Engine 23 approaching from the opposite direction.

 

A small crowd of people in pajamas and bathrobes stood across from a green apartment complex further down the street, watching flames flicker out of the shattered windows of a single apartment unit, and Dean parked right in front of the green building. Green building.

 

Dean squinted at the green paint job. Green apartments.

 

Oh fuck. He knew where they were now.

 

He jumped from his seat onto the pavement, then ran to the side of the truck facing the building.

 

“Completely contained to a single unit, looks like. That seem a little arsonist-y to ya?” He heard Bobby say quietly behind him.

 

No, no no no, no. Not that, not here. Dean couldn’t move his mouth to respond.

 

“Start rolling out the hoses! I’m going to find the building manager and see what we got here, but go ahead and start setting up to attack the flames from the north and west sides of the building!” Bobby started shouting, and the omega watched him walk towards Engine 23 and meet with the other engine’s Captain, and a third, shorter man with curly hair, who handed Bobby something.

 

Dean saw the exact moment Bobby’s shoulders dropped, and he felt like the air was being choked out of him as the beta stared unblinkingly up at flames.

 

The omega vaguely noticed a weight pulling on one of his arms, and slowly glanced down to see Jo’s arms encircled around his own, different flashing lights reflecting off her watery brown eyes as they tracked something straight ahead, and Dean looked back up to see Bobby walking back.   

 

Everybody else from 26 must’ve sensed something was wrong, because it seemed that one second everybody was unrolling hoses, and the next, Dean looked around and saw the engine’s crew huddled around him and Jo in silence, waiting for the beta to return. When he finally came to a stop, Bobby handed over the papers in his hands to Dean.

 

Just like yesterday, it was a packet of all the residents’ names and addresses in the apartment building, and the omega’s fingers numbly turned over the pages, flipping through until he found yellow highlighter streaked over a single name.

 

**Celeste Bradbury – Apartment 2B**

“I’m going to see if… I’m going to go back and talk to 23’s Captain. Roll out the hoses,” Bobby repeated, and Dean thought he was going to choke again on how affected the beta’s scent was. “I’m not letting any of you go in. Just - find a fire hydrant and get water flowing.”

 

Dean stood frozen. The paper was ripped out of his hands, probably by Jo, and he heard Ed and Harry both shout something, but he really didn’t care enough to hear it.

 

He watched Bobby approach Engine 23, and less than a minute later, he watched a search pair from 23 enter the building.

 

Dazed, the omega twisted around to survey his crew. Even with everyone geared up, he knew who every helmet belonged to. A lot of them were new members, joined up within the last few years, but each one reeked of absolute devastation. Everyone knew Charlie. Dean wondered what he smelled like.

 

Bobby returned, without looking at the fire, and half-heartedly started yelling his instructions again.

 

The firefighters slowly tugged their hoses over to the nearest fire hydrants and joined the crew from Engine 23 already shooting water into the second floor apartments. Jo had to grab Dean’s arm and guide him over to a hose with her, and he dropped to one knee to brace himself as water began charging through, and he aimed at the flashes of red and orange.

 

* * *

 

 

Castiel’s mind was hazy when he woke up.

 

The only things visible in the pitch black of his bedroom were the red numbers on his alarm clock across the room, flashing 3:15AM at him. His cell phone was mercifully silent, so the alpha chalked his being awake to a fluke and closed his eyes again to snuggle deeper into the pillow Dean had used the night before, unashamedly content to use the last lingering whiff of the omega’s homey scent to lull himself back to sleep - when his ears picked up a faint knocking sound.

 

Cas squinted at his alarm clock again. Obviously, he wasn’t expecting guests at this hour, so he rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants over his boxers and crept out of his bedroom to investigate. The knocking had stopped by the time the alpha entered his kitchen, and he leaned his tired weight on a counter, eyes trained on the door, waiting to hear an apartment across the hall open and welcome whatever visitor was causing the racket.

 

As Dean would have said – no luck. The sound resumed, and in the dim moonlight shining into the apartment, Cas could see the fine tremors in his door as something pounded against it.

 

The alpha grabbed the nearest weapon (unfortunately, a spatula from his French toast mishap) and held it with one hand behind his back, just in case, and silently approached his front door. The knocking sound kept up as Cas neared, and he peeked through the peephole of his door to see – Goddammit. He undid the deadbolts and threw his door open, feeling a scowl fix itself on his face.

 

“Hiya! Thank _God_ you don’t sleep in the nude like I do, or this could’ve been awkward.” Gabriel said, smirking entirely too wide for Castiel to tolerate at this time of morning, and he barely had time to take a single step backwards before the older Novak showed himself into the apartment, flipping on a kitchen light and jumping to sit upon a countertop while Cas relocked the front door.

 

“Gabriel. What. Are. You. Doing here?” Cas frowned, walking over to lean against the counter opposite Gabe’s perch.

 

“Oh, you know, just happened to be in the neighborhood.” The beta drawled, looking up and around innocently.

 

Cas crossed his arms over his chest and watched his brother start to hum a tune that sounded suspiciously like the _Jaws_ theme song. “…Why?” safely summed up all the questions running, or more like slowly jogging, through Castiel’s sleep addled brain.

 

“Can’t a guy stop by to see his baby bro every once in a while without any questions asked?” Gabe whined defensively, holding a hand to his chest in mock hurt.

 

“No. Not at 3AM. Did Kali kick you out again?”

 

“Ugh,” the beta groaned, rolling his head back. “No, she did not. Hey, how come you’ve never given me a key to your place before?”

 

“Because if you had a key and I’d found you in my kitchen instead of on the other side of the front door, I would have mistaken you for an intruder and shot you. Don’t try to change the subject though, Gabriel. Why are you here?”

 

“Yeah? How many rounds does that spatula carry?” The shorter man mumbled, and Cas tossed his makeshift weapon back into the sink and intensified his glare. “Alright, alright!” Gabe held his hands up in surrender. “I stopped by to let you know there was another arsonist fire.”

 

What.

 

Another arsonist fire?

 

Dean was on shift right now. Cas’ brain sparked to life, and the alpha was fully alert in seconds.

 

“Another arsonist fire? Why are we wasting time here? Why didn’t you just call to inform me of it? Where is it?” Cas asked in rapid succession, leaving Gabriel and running towards his room to get dressed.

 

“Calm down. Jeez, don’t go shooting off like some teenager who just discovered porn. The fire’s already out.” Gabriel called from the kitchen, and Castiel emerged from his room with his dress slacks in hand and work shirt hanging open over his cotton pajama shirt.

 

“What do you mean the fire is ‘already out’?”

 

“Well, you see, I’m here ‘cause I _might_ have _forgotten_ to call you.” Gabriel answered, staring at the ceiling with that too-innocent expression again.

 

Cas paused. “Gabriel.”

 

“So, I got to the scene alone,” the beta started explaining quickly. “Shit’s on fire, omega trapped inside, yadda yadda, the usual M.O. for the arsonists. Saw your hot fireman and realized you were back at home still getting your beauty rest. Figured there wasn’t much we could do immediately and decided it’d be more fun to drive here and wake you up myself.”

 

Cas just stared.

 

So, another arsonist fire. The sixth fire. And Dean was there?

 

That didn’t make sense; the arsonists had never lit a fire in Engine 26’s call area before. The alpha struggled to reach the level of mental clarity he’d had moments before, but all he could process was that there was another omega victim and that Dean was at, possibly inside, the fire, as he slowly put his pants on and did up the belt.

 

“You doing okay there, Cassie? Really, I’m sorry I forgot to call.” Gabriel’s voice brought Cas out of his thoughts, and the alpha looked at his older brother, who was returning the stare with an eyebrow arched high in concern.

 

“Yes. Yes, of course.” Cas mumbled. “You said you drove here?”

 

“Yep,” his brother said, sliding off the counter and heading towards the door. “Got my car waiting downstairs for us.”

 

Cas nodded, locking his front door and following Gabe through the apartment building and out towards the beta’s hideous yellow car.

 

“So, you were at the fire.” Castiel stated, sliding onto the leather seats with a grimace.

 

“Yep. Apartment fire – but only one unit was damaged.” Gabriel replied, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

 

“And the victim was another omega?”

 

“Probably.”

 

“Is there an ID for the victim yet?”

 

“Dunno. I left before they got the omega out.”

 

“So, you have no idea if the omega is dead or alive? Or if the victim is even an omega?” Cas asked, channeling his mild annoyance at Gabriel’s short answers into carefully tying the tie around his neck.

 

“Nope. No idea.”

 

Cas sighed, and his fingers fumbled over a maneuver, causing him to tug the knot loose and start over again as he remembered the embarrassment he’d suffered last time he saw Dean at an arsonist fire. “And you said Dean was there?”

 

“Yep. Your boy is at the crime scene, looking fine as hell.”

 

Castiel glared at his brother, who was staring at the road with a smug grin. “Why was he there?”

 

“I don’t know. I checked back on that theory we had that the arsonists were avoiding Dean’s firetruck, but this fire was right down the block from his station; if the arsonists were avoiding 26, they definitely would’ve known Engine 26 would be at this fire.” Gabriel said, finally sounding serious about the incident for the first time since waking Cas.

 

“Then it appears we’ll have to disregard that theory and form new ones.”

 

The alpha pulled his tie through the knot and straightened it, satisfied he’d tied it correctly this time, as Gabriel turned onto a street with red and blue flashing lights illuminating night sky. The beta pulled to the side of the road and parked, and the detectives opened their doors in unison.

 

As soon as Cas climbed out of the car, he scrunched his nose at the acidic scent of grief in the air. The alpha’s heart dropped, and he scrubbed a wrist over his nose; he’d had high hopes that the omega victim might have lived, like Andrea had, but the smells hanging heavy around them dimmed the optimism in him.

 

A small crowd of whom Castiel assumed were residents of the apartment complex congregated together on the sidewalk across the street, some individuals crying, others hugging in silence. A few uniformed police officers were among them asking questions, so the alpha turned to assess the damage of the fire.

 

Gabriel was right: it was a fairly decent sized apartment building, but there were clearly defined char marks outlining what appeared to be only a single apartment living unit. There were no flickers or flames shooting out of the windows anymore, which fit comfortably within the arsonists’ established pattern – quick to engulf, easy to put out.

 

Castiel turned to ask Gabe whether Bobby was at the scene and available for questions, but saw his brother’s small form already out of earshot and talking to a tall bearded man near Engine 23.

 

Cas huffed, then immediately coughed from the foul scent he’d accidentally inhaled a large quantity of. Since his partner was apparently starting his investigating with Engine 23, the alpha walked closer to the red engine with number 26 gleaming on its sides.

 

He found Bobby, in a tight hug with a petite firefighter that smelled of sad omega (but not _Cas’_ omega) and kept wandering past until his eyes landed on a tall firefighter wearing the Lieutenant helmet, standing alone at the rear of the firetruck and stacking a pile of traffic cones.

 

Castiel paused, unsure what he would do if Dean smelled of mourning, like so many others did. It was possible he’d start crying out of a sympathetic response for the omega, or do something rash like publicly and inappropriately scent mark him for comfort.

 

He saw Dean’s movements falter and his head tilt in Cas’ direction. Castiel took that as a sign of acknowledgement, meaning Dean knew he was there and he could no longer awkwardly watch the omega from afar. The detective closed the final distance between them, and immediately felt his eyes water at the raw _loss_ rolling off of Dean in waves. He stopped a foot away from the other man continuing to pile up orange rubber cones.

 

“Hello Dean.”

 

Dean didn’t look up at him. “Hey Cas,” was all he said, and Cas’ heart broke at how flat the omega’s voice was.

 

“What happened?” Cas asked softly, hoping Dean would recognize he was addressing more than just the arson.

 

“There was a fire.”

 

Cas shifted on his feet, hoping Dean would elaborate, but the omega didn’t, and the alpha glanced around for conversational help.

 

“Where’s the ambulance?” He asked next, wondering if it was wise to bring up the victim when they were obviously the cause of Dean’s and so many others’ hurt.

 

“Gone.”

 

“With the omega victim?”

 

“Yep.”

 

He watched Dean; the omega slammed the large cone in his hands onto the stack with more force than necessary.  Cas ached to reach out and hold the firefighter, but Dean still hadn’t even looked directly at him yet, and Castiel wasn’t good in these types of situations and was afraid of pushing boundaries.

 

“Are they on the way to the hospital?”

 

“Morgue.” Dean corrected with the single word, before turning sharply to leave.

 

The alpha stood next to the abandoned stack of traffic cones and sighed, watching his omega stomp away. This entire situation was not ideal. Not only did the alpha have to work through the death of another arson victim, but rejection pheromones were beginning to churn his stomach from Dean’s cold dismissal.

 

Two final cones lay on their side nearby, and Castiel picked them both up and finished Dean’s stacking project before leaving in search of Gabriel.

 

The other detective was still deep in conversation with the tall man from Engine 23, but broke away at almost a run when Cas caught his eye.

 

“Cassie! All hands on deck for a new break!” Gabriel rushed out, but Cas was still too perturbed with Dean’s scent to feel any of the same excitement for new information.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Okay, so I was just talking to the very kind and sociable Captain Cain over there – that was complete sarcasm, by the way, the man’s as approachable as salmonella at a cookie dough eating contest. But not the point. Everything he said about the fire was blah blah, nothing we haven’t heard before, _but_ that handsome old demon talked to the paramedics before they left and based on injuries and whatnot, they said they’d bet money on the omega being dead _before_ the fire.”

 

Castiel raised an eyebrow at his brother. “Okay…”

 

 “So, this omega was probably targeted, instead of chosen at random by the arsonists. Because, if this is the first omega the arsonists tortured to death instead of left to die in the fire, it’s more likely that the bastards had a personal connection with the victim, and that’ll make it easier to find them.” The beta concluded, and Castiel had to concede that his brother’s logic was sound.

 

At this point, the Sioux Falls Police Department had the information on two of the known arsonists, Azazel and Alastair, but both men had since gone into hiding. If this victim did indeed have a personal connection to either suspect, their location or motive might become easier to uncover.

 

“It’s not the break in the case I would have preferred,” Cas began, praying the innocent omega had at least received a swift, painless death, “but it will be useful. Do we have an ID for the victim yet?”

 

“Yep. Cain got it for us.” Gabe stuck a hand into one of his pockets and removed a rumbled paper and began reading off it. “Let’s see… The victim is Celeste Bradbury, goes by the nickname of Charlie. Female omega, status of unmated, age twent- hey, where are you going?” Cas heard Gabriel call from behind him, but the alpha was already sprinting away.

 

Dean’s tall form was standing off to the side of 26, alone again, and Cas barely gave the omega a chance to notice him before his arms caught the omega and yanked his body flush against his own.

 

He felt Dean stiffen and resist the hug, arms hanging down by his sides for a long moment before reluctantly lifting themselves around Castiel’s back. The alpha squeezed tighter, not willing to settle for such an emotionless return, until he felt Dean’s body sink against him and the omega stuck his face in the crook between Cas’ neck and shoulder with a sniffle.

 

Warm, gloved hands crept under the flaps of Castiel’s trench coat as Dean gripped the detective’s sides closer, and Cas tried projecting home and safety into his scent for the omega.

 

The alpha raised one hand to comfortingly run it through Dean’s hair, but the instant Cas’ hand came off of the omega’s back, the firefighter was stepping out of the hold and climbing into the fire engine, driver’s side door slamming shut after him.

 

Castiel stood there for a moment, confused at the abrupt departure. If Dean wanted to be left alone in the fire engine, then Cas would leave him alone, but he was at a loss for how to properly react.

 

Slowly, he started walking away. He’d only made it a few steps before a hand was on his shoulder, and he spun around, hoping it’d be Dean, but came face to face with Bobby.

 

“Follow us to the station.”

 

Cas nodded at the strange demand, watching the older beta disappear around the side of the truck almost as quickly as he’d appeared. The alpha resumed walking in Gabriel’s direction, turning around once to see Engine 26 roar to life and drive off, and inquired about being dropped off on his older brother’s way home.

 

* * *

Cas had never been one for hyperboles, but the silence inside Station 26 was almost deafening by the time he had been dropped off and entered through an open garage bay door. Most of Dean’s crewmates were shedding their thick firefighting jackets and pants, while some were already stripped down to the station’s sweats and slinging duffel bags over their shoulders.

 

It wasn’t hard to find Dean, though; the omega sat at the picnic table alone, still in his full firefighting gear, minus the helmet and gloves.

 

Cautiously, Cas took the seat next to Dean, unsure what he could say to comfort the omega. He’d barely known Charlie a full 48 hours, and even he could feel her loss. He couldn’t fathom what could soothe the agony Dean must be going through, having been her best friend for years.

 

Lack of experience with these types of social situations kept Castiel’s mouth shut, and he cursed his ineptitude as he watched the other firefighters leave the station one by one. When there was virtually nobody left in the bays, the blonde omega bartender from the Roadhouse stopped in front of them, resting a comforting hand on Dean’s knee a moment before sighing and leaving to pack her own duffel bag. As soon as the outside door closed after her, Dean stood up and walked towards the door leading to the stairwell.

 

Cas jumped to follow, but his arm was caught by Bobby before he made it halfway to the door.

 

“It ain’t exactly following protocol, but Charlie was family, so I gave everyone the rest of the night off to recover.” Bobby said, and the detective nodded in understanding. “Especially Dean. Stay with him tonight, and don’t let that boy do anything stupid, you hear me?”

 

“Of course.” Cas was quick to respond, eager to leave the conversation to find the omega again.

 

The Captain gave him a once over, then picked up his own bag, and Castiel watched Bobby make his way towards the exit and leave the station completely.

 

Twisting on the spot, the alpha hurried through the door Dean had fled through minutes ago, hoping the omega hadn’t gone too far, since it would probably take ages before Cas figured out his way through the unfamiliar station. The sound of running water coming from a restroom was audible as soon as he stepped into an open hallway, and the alpha opened the bathroom door to see Dean splashing water on his face in a sink, at the far end of the row of sinks lining the wall.

 

Cas stood there and watched the firefighter rub his face clear, turn the faucet off, and grip the edges of the sink in silence - and the alpha’s heart surely had to be breaking just observing the other man.

 

A sudden spike of anger in the omega’s scent was the only warning he had before one of Dean’s fists connected with the mirror above the sink, shattering it and raining shards into the sink underneath, before pivoting on his feet and breaking the paper towel dispenser off the wall and sending it crashing onto the hard tile floor.

 

Cas watched the omega stand over the wreckage, heaving deep breaths for a full minute before his head fell forward on a final exhale and his broad shoulders slumped. Cas carefully walked towards Dean, noticing the blond man startle, as if he hadn’t realized the alpha was in the bathroom.

 

The detective gently grabbed the omega’s arm, leading him by the wrist to the next sink over, not littered with sparkling mirror bits, twisted the warm water faucet on and pulled the bloody knuckles Dean had hit the mirror with under the stream of water, silently rubbing his own thumbs over Dean’s hand to sooth the angry red cuts.

 

Satisfied no glass was stuck in the firefighter’s hand, Cas led him out of the bathroom and upstairs, hoping there were medical supplies somewhere in the station for him to treat Dean’s hand with.

 

The stairs let out in a lounge/living room type of space, and Castiel walked past the sofas towards the small kitchen in the back corner, and immediately began ripping paper towel sheets off the roll and wordlessly handing them to Dean.

 

After tearing what must’ve been half the roll, Cas turned to see unreadable green eyes boring into his own. But more importantly, he saw that Dean had layered and packed the paper towels against his hand. Castiel quickly unknotted his tie, and carefully looped the fabric around Dean’s hand to better secure the makeshift bandage.

 

As soon as he finished, however, the omega’s uninjured hand was undoing the tie and handing it back to him.

 

“Tighter. Applying pressure stops bleeding more than gauze does.”

 

Cas looked up at Dean, who was still staring directly at him, before slowly wrapping the tie around the hand again, pulling tight across where he knew the knuckles were bleeding underneath the paper towels, and knotting it in the palm of Dean’s hand.

 

The firefighter didn’t make any further comment, so Cas figured he’d tied it properly this time. He rubbed the pads of his thumbs over Dean’s hands once more, and then led the omega to the sofa directly in front of the TV and gently pushed him into a sitting position on it.

 

A quick glance up confirmed that Dean was still watching Castiel, almost unblinkingly, but the alpha dropped the stare and bent to finish Dean’s poor job of removing his gear.

 

His hands found the Velcro holding the thick beige fire coat together in place of a zipper and ripped at it. Dean leaned forward so Cas could coax the jacket over his shoulders and arms, and then the alpha threw it to the side. Bright red suspenders followed over the shoulders, and Cas motioned for Dean to lift his bottom as he squatted to pull the heavy pants down the firefighter’s bow legs.

 

Cas stayed in his low squat and slid the black steel-toed boots off both of Dean’s feet, then finished removing the pants from around the omega’s ankles, leaving the blond man in only his sweatpants, t-shirt, and a pair of striped socks. The alpha stood to toss the boots and pants near the jacket, creating a small heap of gear on the floor.

 

Dean’s eyes were still locked on him when he turned back to face the omega, and Cas felt a momentary burst of nerves that maybe the firefighter was glaring at him because he didn’t _want_ him there - that he wanted to mourn his friend alone and without someone who’d barely known her.

 

Castiel tried to subtly scent the air for clues, but the omega’s honey and leather scent was no more or less grieving than it had been before, so the alpha went ahead and sat on the seat cushion next to Dean’s on the couch.

 

Anxiously, the alpha glanced once at Dean, who was strangely still looking at him, and then scanned the rest of the room. There was a shelf of broken in board and video games that he knew wouldn’t be appropriate for this occasion, but a dark case in the cluster of DVDs stacked on the lower shelf caught his eye, and Cas stalked over to remove it.

 

With minimal fumbling, and while feeling Dean’s eyes tracking his every movement, Cas managed to turn the TV on and slide the disc in the DVD playing device while Dean remained silent on the couch.

 

A movie preview trailer started up, announcing Castiel had successfully started the DVD, and he grabbed the remote to retake his seat beside the omega.

 

More previews and commercials followed, but the alpha was focused more on Dean, who’s green eyes were now darting from Cas’ to the TV in confusion.

 

A loading screen finally popped up, and Cas felt, more than saw, the tension leave Dean’s body, as he sagged into Castiel once he realized what movie was about to start playing. The alpha clicked play on the remote, starting the opening scene for _The Fellowship of the Ring_ , and wrapped his arms a little tighter around the firefighter.

 


End file.
